von Weitershausen, Inez
(2016)
Europe between interests, institutions and ideas: crisis cooperation during the 2011 uprisings in Libya.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
This thesis analyses cooperation between France, Germany and the United Kingdom (the ‘EU-3’) throughout different episodes of the 2011 uprisings in Libya. Focusing on (i) the provision humanitarian assistance and consular support, (ii) measures taken in the realm of border protection and migration management, (iii) the use of restrictive measures, (iv) the diplomatic recognition of the Libyan opposition, and (v) the decision to intervene (or not) militarily, the study provides the first overview of the activities of the three most influential member states at the time. Drawing on a large set of original empirical material from primary and secondary sources, including 77 semi-structured interviews with foreign policy elites and experts in Berlin, Paris, London and Brussels, the thesis applies a novel two-step explanatory framework to account for decision-makers’ actions. This approach first identifies those normative factors which influenced the way in which decision-makers constructed their respective state’s interests, and subsequently demonstrates how these interests helped to form their interpretations of a given situation in light of the costs and benefits of the various options available to them. The study thus contributes to the growing body of literature that underlines the added value of ideabased research in foreign and security policies, and to crisis response in particular.
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