L’ambivalence de la politique d’armement britannique vis-à-vis de l’Europe
Résumé
The Ambivalence of British Arms Policy Towards Europe
Published in the context of Brexit, this research paper analyses the ‘double relationship’ between Britain and Europe: being ‘in’ by taking part in co-operation with other European states, and at the same time being ‘out’ by staying away from or even leaving multilateral programmes in Europe. This dilemma is worked on from the case of defence procurement policy. How does the British government decide to be both ‘in’ and ‘out’ of Europe by participating in the A400M military transport aircraft programme and withdrawing from the EuroMale UAV programme? Based on exclusive data, the decision in favour of the A400M (‘in’) is explained by the action of political, administrative and industrial actors who perceive the A400M as a ‘truck’ rather than a ‘race car’. As for the British State’s decision not to participate in the EuroMale programme (‘out’), it is conditioned by a weakening of the political will of political actors, and at the same time by a strengthening of conflicting relations between French and British administrations and industries. In doing so, this research contributes to the literature on the acquisition of armaments in strategic studies, and to the literature on differentiated integration in European studies.
Published in the context of Brexit, this research paper analyses the ‘double relationship’ between Britain and Europe: being ‘in’ by taking part in co-operation with other European states, and at the same time being ‘out’ by staying away from or even leaving multilateral programmes in Europe. This dilemma is worked on from the case of defence procurement policy. How does the British government decide to be both ‘in’ and ‘out’ of Europe by participating in the A400M military transport aircraft programme and withdrawing from the EuroMale UAV programme? Based on exclusive data, the decision in favour of the A400M (‘in’) is explained by the action of political, administrative and industrial actors who perceive the A400M as a ‘truck’ rather than a ‘race car’. As for the British State’s decision not to participate in the EuroMale programme (‘out’), it is conditioned by a weakening of the political will of political actors, and at the same time by a strengthening of conflicting relations between French and British administrations and industries. In doing so, this research contributes to the literature on the acquisition of armaments in strategic studies, and to the literature on differentiated integration in European studies.
Publiée dans le contexte du Brexit, cette étude analyse la politique d’armement du Royaume-Uni pour
éclairer le « double rapport » du Royaume-Uni à l’Europe : être in en prenant part à des coopérations
avec d’autres Etats européens, être out en restant éloigné, voire en quittant des programmes multilatéraux
en Europe. A partir de données exclusives, elle montre que la participation britannique au programme
d’avion de transport militaire A400M résulte d’une stratégie portée par un assemblage d’acteurs politiques,
administratifs et industriels qui, percevant l’A400M comme un « camion » plutôt que comme une « voiture
de course », utilisent le cadre de coopération européenne pour maintenir le rang de l’industrie de la
défense britannique. Quant à la décision de ne pas participer au programme EuroMale, elle découle
d’un affaiblissement de la volonté des acteurs politiques et, concomitamment, d’un renforcement des
relations conflictuelles entre les administrations et les industries françaises et britanniques. Ce faisant,
cette recherche contribue à la littérature sur l’acquisition d’armements par des partenariats internationaux
en études stratégiques, et à celle sur l’intégration différenciée en études européennes.
Domaines
Science politique| Origine | Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte |
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