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Chapter

Cover Comparative European Politics

16. Defence and Security  

Simon J. Smith and Nikola Tomić

This chapter takes a comparative state-centric approach to illustrate the core issues of defence in Europe. The chapter reviews the influence of history, size, and geography on defence in Europe. It assesses the external threats facing European countries, including territorial threats from neighbouring countries such as Russia (in the light of the ongoing conflict with Ukraine), but also looking at other threats like energy security and cyber security. The chapter compares the how European states respond to these threats, examining their differences and similarities in terms of their strategic culture, defence capabilities, and military alliances. We examine the ongoing efforts to build defence cooperation between countries, including NATO expansion and the emergence of common defence policies at the EU level.

Chapter

Cover Comparative European Politics

16. Defence  

Nikola Tomić and Ben Tonra

This chapter takes a comparative state-centric approach to illustrate the core issues of defence in Europe. The chapter reviews the influence of history, size, and geography on defence in Europe. It assesses the external threats facing European countries, including territorial threats from neighbouring countries such as Russia, energy security, and cyber security, and the ways in which these threats are perceived in Europe and in European states. It then shows how states respond to these threats, examining differences between European countries in terms of their strategic culture, defence capabilities, and military alliances. Efforts to build defence cooperation between countries are examined, including NATO and the emergence of common defence policies at the EU level.

Chapter

Cover Human Rights

Humanitarian Intervention  

Alan J. Kuperman

This chapter highlights the distinction between human rights and humanitarianism. Humanitarian intervention refers to the use of diplomatic, economic, and/or military resources by states or international organizations to protect civilians who are endangered in another state. The chapter notes the impossibility of attaining impartiality and neutrality when commencing humanitarian work during a civil war. Modern intervention often confronts human rights violations by naming, shaming, and coercing those who harm civilians. The chapter then recognizes the obstacles to effective and timely intervention such as political will and large-scale violence against civilians. It covers the case of Kosovo that showed how the international community should utilize its leverage to persuade oppressive states to meet the legitimate demands of nonviolent groups in an effort to simultaneously promote human rights and humanitarianism.