Politicization and security policy: Parties, voters and the European Common Security and Defense Policy
| Author | Pierangelo Isernia,Davide Angelucci |
| Published date | 01 March 2020 |
| Date | 01 March 2020 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1465116519851193 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Politicization and
security policy: Parties,
voters and the European
Common Security and
Defense Policy
Davide Angelucci
Italian Center for Electoral Studies (CISE), Libera Universita
`
Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli (LUISS),
Roma, Italy
Pierangelo Isernia
Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences
(DISPOC), University of Siena, Siena, Italy
Abstract
The Common Security and Defense Policy of the European Union has recently come to
the forefront as a potential force of integration. This study explores the consequences
(if any) of such a move, investigating how likely it is for Common Security and Defense
Policy to be politicized and become a new area of dissent. The article explores con-
ditions of politicization at three different levels of analysis: (a) the systemic level, where
Common Security and Defense Policy position in a bi-dimensional political space (left–
right and anti-pro EU) is discussed; (b) the party level, where potentially successful issue
entrepreneurs of Common Security and Defense Policy are identified; (c) the individual
voter level, where the probabilities of being mobilized by issue entrepreneurs of
Common Security and Defense Policy are assessed. Our analysis suggests that although
Common Security and Defense Policy is prone to be politicized and right-wing parties
are the most likely group to do so, this move may backfire as right-wing voters are
less likely to be mobilized on Common Security and Defense Policy compared to their
Corresponding author:
Davide Angelucci, Italian Center for Electoral Studies (CISE), LUISS University, 32 Viale Romania, Roma
00197, Italy.
Email: dangelucci@luiss.it
European Union Politics
2020, Vol. 21(1) 64–86
!The Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1465116519851193
journals.sagepub.com/home/eup
left-wing counterpart. We discuss the implications of these results for the conceptu-
alization of politicization and European integration.
Keywords
Common Security and Defense Policy, European defense policy, European integration,
politicization
Introduction
Recently, the European defense strategy has made headlines in the European
Union debates. This began on June 2016 with the launch of the EU Global
Strategy and culminated, on December 2017, with the formal approval of the
Permanent Structured Cooperation. There are high expectations that this is the
time for a political turn in European integration, after more than 50 years of
economic integration. Therefore, it is an opportune moment to explore whether
further steps towards a deeper integration on the ‘high’ politics of defense and
foreign affairs would be welcomed in Europe.
Different obstacles could hinder integration in this policy area. First, Common
Security and Defense Policy (CSDP)
1
is solidly anchored in the intergovernmen-
talist mode of decision making (Rosato, 2011), with member states being reluctant
to cede sovereignty to European institutions. Second, member states greatly differ
in terms of values and security objectives (Baun, 2005; Howorth, 2001), and these
differences have further increased as a consequence of the EU’s enlargement pro-
cess, with the inclusion of new priorities for defense (Baun, 2005). Third, member
states do not share the same orientations regarding their degree of integration and
the amount of coordination with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Biava
et al., 2011; Eichenberg, 2000). Fourth, and most importantly, for the purpose of
this study, political controversy might stir a field usually shielded by politicization.
While CSDP still does not attract much attention from the public, the progressive
‘domestication’ of foreign and security policy (Matlary and Østerud, 2007) makes
this policy area less isolated (Irondelle et al., 2015) and more salient (Oppermann
and H€
ose, 2007: 149). It is increasingly likely that this policy area may come to the
forefront of the public arena, bringing about heated debates. What is not clear is
under which conditions politicization might occur and how it will affect the level of
integration of this policy area. The article addresses these issues.
Relying on the EU-Engage dataset and the Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES),
the article explores the conditions for politicization of CSDP at three different
levels: (a) the systemic level, exploring the position that CSDP occupies on a bi-
dimensional political space, defined by the left–right and anti-pro EU cleavages;
(b) the party level, assessing which parties might be the most likely issue entrepre-
neurs of CSDP; (c) the individual level, studying which sectors of the electorate are
Angelucci and Isernia 65
To continue reading
Request your trial