| 1. |
- Bicchi, Federica, et al.
(author)
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European diplomatic practices : contemporary challenges and innovative approaches
- 2016
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In: European Security. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0966-2839 .- 1746-1545. ; 25:4, s. 391-406
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As the aim of this special issue is to show practice approaches at work in the case of European diplomacy, this introduction provides readers with a hands-on sense of where the conversation about practices and European diplomacy currently stands. By introducing the key terms and overviewing the literature, the article contextualises the guiding questions of the special issue. It starts by reviewing how practice approaches have evolved in IR debates. It then describes European diplomacy’s nuts and bolts in a post-Lisbon setting. It continues by focusing on specific practices and analytical mechanisms that contribute to understand European diplomacy’s transformations and the role of security. While the debate about practices goes beyond the case of diplomacy, the latter has become a showcase for the former and this special issue continues the debate on practices and diplomacy by zooming in on the European Union.
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| 2. |
- Bremberg, Niklas, et al.
(author)
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Ambiguous power? A relational approach to how the EU exercises power in Morocco and Tunisia
- 2021
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In: Journal of International Relations and Development. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1408-6980 .- 1581-1980. ; 24, s. 128-148
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article addresses the question of how the EU exercises power in international politics and, in particular, whether or not there is anything distinctive about the ways in which it does so. Taking a relational approach to power, where the focus is on practical knowledge and perceptions of self and other, the paper departs from the assumption that such a question has to be evaluated in specific settings. Extrapolating from the EU's attempt to influence outcomes in Tunisia and Morocco following the Arab Spring, this paper proposes that the power of ambiguity captures some of the distinctiveness of the EU as a global actor. The paper highlights the ambiguity of what the EU is in the eyes of others, which opens up avenues for exercising power that others lack, not necessarily in accordance with a well-defined agenda, but understood as the production of effects in delimited settings.
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| 3. |
- Bremberg, Niklas, 1978-, et al.
(author)
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Catalonia, Scotland and the EU : Visions of Independence and Integration
- 2022
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Book (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The electoral success of secessionist parties in Catalonia and Scotland over the last decade, together with Brexit and the support for Eurosceptic parties in many EU member states, have prompted a rethink of many taken-for-granted notions about politics in Spain, the UK and the EU. Secessionist parties in Catalonia and Scotland often combine calls for independence with support for the EU, but independence for Catalonia might entail the loss of EU membership. In the UK, Scotland voted for the UK to remain in the EU, yet it was forced to leave the Union along with the rest of the country: what effect has Brexit had on Scottish independence claims? Through comparing Catalonia and Scotland, this short volume aims to contribute to debates on, and advance knowledge of, visions of independence and integration, how they interrelate in Europe’s emergent political order, and what they entail for European integration and democracy in the EU.
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| 4. |
- Bremberg, Niklas, 1978-
(author)
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Exploring the Dynamics of Security Community-Building in the Post-Cold War Era : Spain, Morocco and the European Union
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis aims to make a theoretical as well as an empirical contribution to the debate on the security community concept in International Relations (IR) by way of conducting a study of the European Union (EU) as a security community-building institution in the case of Spain and Morocco. The security community concept originally sought to define the conditions under which the threat of inter-state war would be mitigated through social transaction and expectations of peaceful change between societies and states. However, in the post-Cold War era, the challenge is rather to understand how security communities emerge and expand at a time when armed conflicts among states have become less frequent compared to other non-military threats and trans-boundary risks (e.g. terrorism, failed states, organized crime, pandemics, climate change). The argument of this thesis is that the role of international organizations and the changing notion of security need to be taken into account when re-thinking the concept. Drawing on constructivism in IR, especially the notion of communities of practice, the thesis suggests a framework to study how security communities work in the post-Cold War era focusing on the mechanisms of crisis management, transgovernmental networks and multilateral venues. The framework is used to study the EU as a security community-building institution in the case of Spain (member state) and Morocco (non-member), and in the fields of trade, security and defence and civil protection. The main finding of the thesis, which carries broader implications for the debate on security communities in IR, is that the EU has contributed to broadening the repertoire of cooperative security practices between Spain and Morocco, not necessarily through fostering collective identity but by supporting the development of communities of practitioners whom increasingly share a notion of military and civilian crisis management to counter non-military threats and trans-boundary risks.
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| 5. |
- Bremberg, Niklas, 1978-, et al.
(author)
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Global Responses to Climate Security : Discourses, Institutions and Actions
- 2022
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In: Journal of Peacebuilding and Development. - : Sage Publications. - 1542-3166 .- 2165-7440. ; 17:3, s. 341-356
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Research suggests that International Organizations (IOs) are getting more involved in efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate-related security risks in different parts of the world. However, there is still a limited understanding of how discourse and action on climate security develop and diffuse in and across different institutional settings in various policy fields and geographical contexts. This article aims to contribute to advancing the research agenda by outlining an analytical framework that helps structure comparison across IOs along three key dimensions: (a) discursive framing; (b) institutional design; and (c) policy actions. To illustrate how the framework can be used in empirical analyses the article discusses findings from previous research. This is not only relevant to highlight the framework’s analytical usefulness as it also shows the relevance of these research findings for practitioners and decision-makers engaged in efforts to enhance the role of IOs in global governance of climate security—and across the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus.
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| 6. |
- Bremberg, Niklas, 1978-
(author)
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Making sense of the EU’s response to the Arab uprisings : foreign policy practice at times of crisis
- 2016
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In: European Security. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0966-2839 .- 1746-1545. ; 25:4, s. 423-441
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Arab uprisings of 2011 put into question previously held understandings about the stability of authoritarian regimes in North Africa as well as the European Union’s (EU’s) relations with countries in its southern neighbourhood. Despite early calls on behalf of the EU to change its policies, the Union’s responses in the early stages seemed mostly characterised by continuity. This article claims that certain dispositions and background knowledge developed over several decades vis-à-vis EU’s Mediterranean policies served as a baseline from which EU officials and diplomats acted. Drawing on insights from practice approaches, the article argues that the practical understandings on what the EU can (and cannot) do vis-à-vis partner countries in North Africa create a kind of power politics of practical dispositions. The article focuses on the European Neighbourhood Policy - the EU’s flagship initiative - and builds on a unique set of data that combine policy documents and interviews with about 30 EU officials and national diplomats from before and after the Arab uprisings. In this way, it illustrates how practice relates to change in that even though the EU’s responses drew on an established repertoire of practice, enacting it in a new context opened up new possibilities for action.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Bremberg, Niklas, 1978-, et al.
(author)
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The everyday making of EU foreign and security policy : practices, socialization and the management of dissent
- 2022
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Book (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This cutting-edge book explores the practices and socialization of the everyday foreign policy making in the European Union (EU), focusing on the individuals who shape and implement the Common Foreign and Security Policy despite a growing dissension among member states.The authors provide theoretically informed analyses based on up-to-date empirical material from the Political and Security Committee, Council working groups, the European External Action Service, EU delegations, military and civilian missions and operations and EU member state embassies. They illustrate the ways in which European foreign policy is shaped through the daily work of diplomats, exploring the communities of practice that are formed in the process of policy-making in the EU. Combining socialization and practice approaches, the book offers an innovative take on the motivations behind integration at a time of European discord.Providing a unique inside account of diplomatic practices and the coordination of EU foreign policy, this insightful book is crucial reading for students of political science and international relations at all levels seeking to better understand the minutiae of formulating and coordinating EU foreign and security policy. Its empirical analyses will also benefit scholars and researchers interested in European integration and socialization in international organizations, as well as practitioners, such as diplomats and European civil servants.
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| 9. |
- Bremberg, Niklas, 1978-
(author)
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The OSCE and climate security : diplomatic practice in a changing geopolitical context
- 2023
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In: International Affairs. - 0020-5850 .- 1468-2346. ; 99:3, s. 1149-1165
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article analyses the role of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the field of climate security. In 2021, the OSCE unanimously adopted a ministerial decision on climate change despite rising geopolitical tensions between Russia and the US. Why and how was this possible? The article answers these questions, drawing on a unique set of qualitative data collected from interviews with diplomats and officials conducted during Sweden's OSCE chairpersonship. The analytical framework draws on the concept of communities of practice to analyse how Swedish and like-minded diplomats built on the OSCE's approach to security to informally expand the domain of knowledge on climate-related security risks in the organization. The article suggests that the current political impasse in the OSCE does not necessarily mean that initiatives advanced by groups of like-minded states, in collaboration with the OSCE secretariat, need to be paralyzed. The findings reveal important features of multilateral diplomacy on climate security as well as how the OSCE works in practice.
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| 10. |
- Bremberg, Niklas, 1978-, et al.
(author)
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Uncovering the Diverging Institutional Logics of EU Civil Protection
- 2009
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In: Cooperation and Conflict. - : SAGE Publications. - 0010-8367 .- 1460-3691. ; 44:3, s. 288-308
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The development of European Union (EU) civil protection cooperation highlights important issues in the debate on the internal-external security nexus. It points to the increased transnationalization of threats usually assigned to the field of 'internal' security, but it also presents researchers with a puzzle: despite the relatively rapid development of civil protection cooperation, there is still substantial disagreement among the EU member states as to how it should continue to develop. Applying an analytical framework based on neo-institutional organization theory and the study of organizational 'fields', this article explores two questions: What is the institutional basis for member states' diverging positions on the future direction of EU civil protection? and How may these positions affect the current development of EU civil protection? Our analysis draws upon empirical evidence from civil protection practice in Spain, Sweden and the EU, including official documents in the form of bills and laws, policy papers and elite interviews. We find that the basis for member states' diverging positions on the future of EU civil protection is rooted in conflicting national institutional logics of civil protection. No logic has become dominant at the EU level, suggesting that as long as multiple institutional logics continue to coexist, disagreement on the future development of European level civil protection cooperation will persist.
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