Strategic Yearbook 2006

The theme of the 2006 Strategic Yearbook of the Swedish National Defence College, published in cooperation with the Finnish National Defence College, is the European Security and Defence Policy, ESDP. The contributions to the Yearbook provide different theoretical and thematic, national and regional or sub regional perspectives on ESDP.

The European Security and Defence Policy does not equal a military alliance directed against any predefined enemy, but represents a European Union effort to organize itself for crisis management, stability and peacekeeping operations, collectively and nationally. This is a challenge both to the Europeans themselves and to the European neighbourhood, the security and stability of witch is a part of the Union Security Strategy of 2003. The ESDP potentially involves countries and territory within a 6.000-kilometer radius of Brussels – thus sending an EU message both to the Caucasus, a ”Wider Middle East”, and Africa. It certainly impacts on the transatlantic relationship and has possibly long term implications for European global policies and the forming of a specific EU role in the international system.