Is Britain part of the old or new EU

The first 200 words of this essay...

Is the UK part of the old or new EU?

Hypotheses

Conceptualizing Europe has been at the vanguard of academic literature. US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld (2003), famously used the term old Europe when referring to the European countries not offering support for the US invasion of Iraq. This project considers which bracket Britain falls within. The connotations of Rumsfeld's speech suggest Britain is part of the new EU but having become a member over three decades ago this is disputable. This project looks beyond what Rumsfeld implied. The concept of strategic culture is applied.

'Strategic Culture is that set of shared beliefs, assumptions, and modes of behaviour, derived from common experiences and accepted narratives that shape collective identity and relationships to other groups, and which determine appropriate ends and means for achieving security objectives.' (Johnson, J.L. & Larsen, J.A. 2002 p.3)

Taking the definition, this project will question the theoretical elements of strategic culture and develop a hypothesis. Examining episodes of the European venture this project aims to categorize the UK of old or new Europe. First an assessment of old and new Europe will be considered at the European level of analysis.