The Irish Case

The Europeanisation of Priorities and Policy Issues?

Abstract

The end of the Cold War changed our Conception of security. The events of 11 September 2001 amplified that sense of change. Cumulatively, this has caused most, if not all, states to reassess their security and defence priorities and in most cases to adapt their associated policies and capacities to meet a range of new and re-evaluated security threats. This has had an obvious impact on national militaries. As Edmunds argues “The end of the Cold War removed the dominant strategic lens through which armed forces were developed and understood.” But it is less clear precisely what are the implications of this for smaller European States such as the Republic of Ireland. This article evaluates the policy challenges that arose for Irish security and defence policy due to these changes of the security environment. The Irish relationship with the UN, NATO as well as the European Union had to adapted to the new situation and new policies were developed. This article puts policy changes and their potential explanations like increasing Europeanization in perspective. The aim is to show how things have evolved in the Irish context.