Political Science Commons^™

Csdp And Nato: Rethinking The Transatlantic Security Relationship, Pia Bhathal

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

This paper explores the European Union’s (EU) security relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States (US) through the framework of the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). Skeptics have decried the rise of CSDP as a new security pillar, arguing that it is an attempt to balance against NATO and the US. I argue that this criticism is false. A comparison of two CSDP military operations, European Union Force Chad/CAR (EUFOR Tchad/RCA) and European Union Force Althea (EUFOR Althea), shows that operational success is heavily dependent on the EU’s ability to use NATO assets through …