Integration or a balance of power? The conceptualization of "low" and "high" foreign and security policy within the framework of the European union

Abstract

This article attempts to explain the diverging evolution of foreign and
security policy in the EU. It begins by characterizing the CFSP/ESDP at the
level of the armed forces, administrative structures, and decision-making
bodies in comparison with practical implementation. This survey reveals
two modes of interpretation: One based on the realist theory and the other
on integration theories of neofunctionalism or institutionalism. The fourth
part of this paper expounds upon the finding that neither of these theories
are able to fully explain the empirical contradiction, brought forward by the
rift between the EU member states in 2003, with regard to the intervention
in Iraq, or the parallel dynamic developments within ESDP. The author
suggests a possible solution based on the conceptualization of "high" and
"low" foreign and security policy, derived from Stanley Hoffmann's original
concept.