Publication

The eu’s maritime security strategy: a neo-medieval perspective on the limits of soft security?

Flynn, Brendan
Identifiers
http://hdl.handle.net/10379/11527
https://doi.org/10.13025/28525
Repository DOI
10.1515/cirr-2016-0001
Publication Date
2016-01-01
Keywords
european union, maritime security strategy, hard and soft conceptions, policy, politics, crisis
Type
Article
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Citation
Flynn, Brendan (2016). The eu’s maritime security strategy: a neo-medieval perspective on the limits of soft security?. Croatian International Relations Review 22 (75), 9-37
Abstract
This paper offers a critical interpretation of the EU's recent Maritime Security Strategy (MSS) of 2014, making distinctions between hard and soft conceptions of maritime security. The theoretical approach employed invokes the 'EU as neo-medieval empire' (Bull 1977: 254-255; Rennger 2006; Zielonka 2006). By this account, the main objectives of EU maritime strategy are stability and encouragement of globalised maritime trade flows to be achieved using the classic instruments of 'soft maritime security'. While replete with great possibilities, the EU's maritime security strategy is likely to be a relatively weak maritime security regime, which suffers from a number of important limits.
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Publisher
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland
cbn
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Externally hosted open access publications with University of Galway authors (2)