ESDP: NATO's Demise or Opportunities for NATO

摘要

The Europeans are well into establishing a security identity in the European Union (EU) known as European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). Concurrently, the U.S. has put a lot of emphasis in transforming NATO into an effective, modern warfighting entity capable of deploying out of Europe. A major question arises: 'Can the EU develop a capacity for security structures without causing NATO's demise.' This paper examines the transformational initiatives within NATO and the developments of and proposals for ESDP. The paper will show that ESDP will not cause NATO's demise, but rather that an enhanced ESDP may allow NATO to forge a lasting security partnership with a potential EU with holistic conflict management capabilities.