Objective To what extent can international institutions learn? What factors determine whether such institutions develop capacities for self-awareness and endogenous institutional change? This project investigates these questions in the context of the European Union (EU). Specifically, it examines the dramatic expansion in security missions led by the EU since 2003, a capacity that many observers doubted was even possible for the EU. To explain this change in institutional behaviour, the project intends to develop a theory of institutional learning to analyze the EU’s instigation and implementation of 16 security operations in various regions under the auspices of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). In addition, with these missions the EU has shown a growing capacity to innovate in security affairs, using a unique civilian crisis management (CCM) capacity linked to security sector reform and other EU policy tools, including the ESDP, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). These changes demand further examination in light of not only the growing ambitions of the EU itself but also in terms of the increasing demands for security assistance placed on a variety of IOs, such as the UN, NATO, and the OSCE. The initial phase of the project will focus on four key ESDP operations as detailed case studies – Macedonia, the Palestinian Authority, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Bosnia-Hercegovina – to explain this innovation. Following the investigation of these representative cases, the later stages of the project will examine more recent EU security operations in hopes of developing a general theory of EU institutional learning in the area of foreign/security/defence policy. The project also hopes to generalize beyond this theory to other EU policy domains and, potentially, other IOs at the regional and global levels. In doing so the findings could have major implications for global governance. Fields of science social sciencessociologygovernancecrisis managementsocial sciencespolitical sciencesgovernment systems Keywords ESDP European Security and Defence Policy conflict resolution crisis management institutional learning institutionalization Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) ERC-SG-SH2 - ERC Starting Grant - Institutions, values, beliefs and behaviour Call for proposal ERC-2007-StG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant Host institution THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN EU contribution € 761 356,88 Address KING'S COLLEGE REGENT WALK AB24 3FX ABERDEEN United Kingdom See on map Region Scotland North Eastern Scotland Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Susie Hastings (Mrs.) Principal investigator Michael Smith (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN United Kingdom EU contribution € 761 356,88 Address KING'S COLLEGE REGENT WALK AB24 3FX ABERDEEN See on map Region Scotland North Eastern Scotland Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Susie Hastings (Mrs.) Principal investigator Michael Smith (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data THE UNIVERSITY COURT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS Participation ended United Kingdom EU contribution € 257 907,12 Address NORTH STREET 66 COLLEGE GATE KY16 9AJ St Andrews See on map Region Scotland Eastern Scotland Clackmannanshire and Fife Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Lorna Sillar (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
