Mayhem in the Mediterranean: three strategic lessons for Europe

Abstract:

Despite the Security Council Resolution 1973 authorising the use of force and regional support in the form of an unprecedented request for intervention from the Arab League, the European Union did not take the lead and prove itself a worthy actor on the world scene in the Libyan crisis. This paper examines the lack of unity and argues that action did serve the interests of all twenty-seven EU Member States and that the issue was always going to end up on the EU agenda, when the long-term perspectives for the region were to be debated.

ESO: Background information: Libyan Lessons for Europe http://www.europeansources.info/record/libyan-lessons-for-europe/

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