Norwegian Nobel Institute

If you fly across the Atlantic on a clear day, you can look down and see the same phenomenon but on two different scales. From the medium-sized Norway to the slightly smaller and more powerful Britain to the vast snows of Canada and then the smaller but mightier United States of America. Size and power, although connected, cannot be equated nor can power and prosperity, or prestige prosperity, or prestige or autonomy. As the the founder of the German geopolitical school and father of the term ‘geopolitics’, Rudolf Kjellen has noted—power potential is not the determinant of which actors develop a will to greater power—what he calls ‘vilja till mera makt’.1 Kjellen focus on the intervening variables that make some actors punch above their weight and why other actors fail to achieve their potential, which is arguably the case with the EU. It is argued that EU displayed the behavioural patterns of a small power in the period 2003–2010.KeywordsMember StateForeign PolicyGreat PowerInternational SystemSmall PowerThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

The EU security policy was a leap in the dark. It was constructed under an agreement that the EU should have such a policy, but not what it should be about. On 12 December 2003, the leaders of the European Union approved the first-ever European Security Strategy, the ESS, proclaiming an intention to ‘share in the responsibility for global security and in building a better world’.1 The ESS summons up the EU’s external dimension, in a manner that transcends the metaphorical ‘pillars’ intended to visualize the workings of the Union. It encapsulates foreign and security policy—from the development and neighbourhood policies of the European Commission, via the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), under the auspices of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to police and judicial cooperation.KeywordsSecurity PolicyHuman SecuritySecurity AgendaLisbon TreatyJudicial CooperationThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

In a vintage bookshop in Stockholm, I happened upon a book by fellow Scandinavian Konrad von Schmidt-Phiseldeck. The 1821 bestseller Europa och Amerika is an account of Europe’s place in a multipolar world.1 The book also offers insights into the idea of Europe. The book is all the more interesting since the arrangements put in place after the end of the Napoleonic wars were showing strains. To gain the gift of hindsight it helps to read Henry Kissinger’s A World Restored which covers the same period as a running commentary.2 Schmidt-Phiseldeck favoured a united Europe, but at the same time he was concerned that integration might weaken Europe’s ‘warrior spirit’, its will to power and was concerned how territories beyond Europe might affect the great power concert that guaranteed peace. Schmidt-Phiseldeck was, in addition to his many other accomplishments, a leading foreign policy thinker of his day and his analysis does not come across as quaint; on the contrary they seem highly relevant, if somewhat overly sentimental for the sensitivities of the modern reader.KeywordsForeign PolicyInternational Criminal CourtEuropean SystemEuropean SecurityEuropean HistoryThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsLinus PaulingLinus Pauling is one of the few recipients of two Nobel awards. The first was the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1954. The second was the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 for his leadership in the campaign for world peace. Pauling is a founding sponsor of the Bulletin and his tireless and courageous activities on behalf of the test ban treaty awakened the world to the dangers of radioactive fallout.

"Nobel Peace Laureates." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 35(5), p. 1 Additional informationNotes on contributorsPhilip Noel-BakerPhilip Noel-Baker born in 1889 has spent his life in public service. As a scholar, politician, diplomat and author his powerful talents have been devoted to disarmament. Lord Noel-Baker has received many honors but the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1959 reflected his stature and appeal to the peoples of all countries.