Attached to the World: On the Anchoring and Strategy of Dutch Foreign Policy

152 Pages·2011·1.04 MB·English

by  Gera Arts

Attached to the World
Few other countries are so interrelated with the world around us in political,
Attached
economic, and social respects as the Netherlands. This means that the Dutch
government needs to be alert in its response to the risks and opportunities
presented by a rapidly changing world.
to the World
Addressing this issue, the Scientific Council for Government Policy (wrr) offers
some reflections in this report, guided by the question how the Netherlands can
develop a foreign policy strategy that matches the changing power relations in the
world and the radically changed character of international relations.
on the anchoring and strategy
The answer to this question is a reorientation. This means making transparent of dutch foreign policy
choices, making smarter use of Europe as our dominant arena, and, finally, a
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choosing an approach that makes better use of the growing role of non-state t
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actors. The report’s recommendations not only underline the necessity of
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reorientation but also show how this could be accomplished in practice. ed
t Ben Knapen, Gera Arts,
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t Yvonne Kleistra, Martijn Klem
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ISBN 978 90 8964 328 5
Amsterdam University Press • www.aup.nl AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS
Attached to the World
This book is based on a report that was published by The Netherlands
Scientific Council for Government Policy (wrr). According to the Act of
Establishment, it is the Council’s task to supply, on behalf of government
policy, scientifically sound information on developments which may affect
society in the long term, and to draw timely attention to likely anomalies
and obstacles, to define major policy problems and to indicate policy
alternatives.
The Council draws up its own programme of work, after consultation with
the Prime Minister, who also takes cognisance of the cabinet’s view on the
proposed programme.
The Council (2008-2012) has the following composition:
prof. dr. J.A. Knottnerus (chairman)
prof. dr. ir. M.B.A. van Asselt
prof. dr. P.A.H. van Lieshout
prof. dr. H.M. Prast
prof. mr. J.E.M. Prins
prof. dr. ir. G.H. de Vries
prof. dr. P. Winsemius
Executive director: dr. W. Asbeek Brusse
Lange Vijverberg 4-5
P.O. Box 20004
2500 EA ’s-Gravenhage
Tel. [phone]
Fax [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: http://www.wrr.nl
SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL FOR GOVERNMENT POLICY
Attached to the World
on the anchoring and strategy of
dutch foreign policy
Ben Knapen, Gera Arts, Yvonne Kleistra,
Martijn Klem & Marijke Rem
Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2011
Translation: The Text Consultant
Front cover illustration: ©Lijnontwerp / Studio Daniëls
Cover design: Studio Daniëls, The Hague
Layout: Het Steen Typografie, Maarssen
isbn 978 90 8964 328 5
e-isbn 978 90 4851 449 6
nur 759 / 754
©wrr / Amsterdam University Press, The Hague / Amsterdam 2011
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part
of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recor-
ding or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the
author of the book.
5
contents
Summary 7
Preface 13
1 Motivation and Background: an Introduction 15
1.1 Motivation 15
1.2 Background 17
1.3 Problem Definition 21
1.4 Limitations and Structure of This Report 23
2 From Fragmentation to Strategy 25
2.1 Tilting of the Policy Agenda 26
2.1.1 Security 27
2.1.2 Energy 31
2.1.3 Climate 33
2.2 Consequences for Foreign Policy 34
2.2.1 Foreign Policy as a Doughnut 34
2.2.2 Punching above Its Weight 35
2.2.3 Public Opinion as an Uncertain Factor 38
2.3 Towards Clear Choices and Priorities 41
2.3.1 Awareness of the Global Context 42
2.3.2 Interest-Based Prioritising 43
2.3.3 Niches as Specialisations 50
2.3.4 Some Examples of Niches 51
2.4 Conclusion 56
3 Europe: Arena and Link 59
3.1 Beyond Two Mental Worlds 60
3.1.1 nato 61
3.1.2 Europe as a Power Bloc… 63
3.1.3 … and Europe as a Network 64
3.1.4 A New Avenue 66
3.2 Europe as a Political Arena 68
3.3 Europe as a Link to the World Stage 70
3.3.1 External Policy in the Treaty of Lisbon 71
3.3.2 The European Council 72
3.4 A Convoy Carrying Two Flags 73
3.4.1 Consequences for the Scope of Action 74
3.4.2 National and European Ambitions 75
6 attached to the world
3.5 The Netherlands in Europe 77
3.5.1 Sovereign and Attached 77
3.5.2 Shared European Destinies 80
3.6 Conclusion 82
4 Directing and Facilitating 85
4.1 Organising Strategic Foreign Policy 86
4.1.1 Ministry of General and European Affairs 86
4.1.2 Foreign Affairs as a Technical Ministry 90
4.2 Using Existing Instruments 91
4.2.1 hgisas a Steering Instrument 91
4.2.2 Made-to-Measure Network of Embassies 93
4.2.3 Knowledge beyond International Headlines 94
4.3 Switching between State and Non-State Arenas 96
4.3.1 Centrality 99
4.3.2 Cooperation 100
4.3.3 Soft Power 103
4.4 Conclusion 104
5 Conclusions and Recommendations 107
5.1 The Netherlands in a Changing World 107
5.2 Opportunities for Setting Our ‘Own Agenda’ 109
5.2.1 Tilting of Issues 109
5.2.2 Consequences for Foreign Policy 110
5.2.3 Strategic Choices 111
5.3 Reorientation on Europe 113
5.4 Towards a New Practice 115
5.4.1 Another Approach 115
5.4.2 Using Instruments in a Different Way 116
5.4.3 Goal-Orientated Cooperation 117
5.5 In Conclusion 118
List of Abbreviations 119
References 121
List of Interviewees 135
Appendix 1 141
Appendix 2 143
Appendix 3 147
Appendix 4 149
7
summary
Attached to the World: On the Anchoring and Strategy of Dutch
Foreign Policy
The Netherlands is attached to the world. Few other countries are as closely inter-
woven politically, economically and socially with the world around us. That makes
Dutch foreign policy a strategic affair. The Dutch government has to deliver an alert
response to the risks andopportunities of a rapidly changing world.
Today’s world can best be described as hybrid in nature. On the one hand, there is
the familiar world of geopolitics and nation states. That world is currently going
through a shift in the balance of power towards the East. On the other hand,
there is the ‘network world’, populated not only by states, but increasingly also
by non-state actors. State borders present virtually no obstacle to these networks.
Seen from this perspective, it is no longer possible to speak of theforeign policy
of thestate; it is more correct to think in terms of many different expressions of
foreign policy within a ‘disaggregated state’. Increasingly, ministries and agencies
have their own objectives in international affairs and participate autonomously in
international networks, especially in a European context. As a consequence, the
traditional distinction between ‘domestic’ and ‘foreign’ is becoming increasingly
blurred.
Most people in the Netherlands experience this differently. To them, the Dutch
state remains the primary actor in relations with the outside world. At the same
time they are unsure what position the Netherlands occupies in today’s world.
Familiar reference points are disappearing and partly as a result of the financial
crisis, global power relations are shifting faster than most people could ever have
imagined. There is a growing tension between this feeling of being threatened by
the outside world and the need to nurture the relationship with that same world.
Domestic tensions, fading dividing lines between ‘domestic’ and ‘foreign’, and the
opportunities and risks presented by a hybrid world create a need for a study of the
changing conditions of foreign policy and of the possibilities and limitations these
conditions offer. This report aims to contribute to a new orientation towards the
outside world. It focuses on the question of how the Netherlands can develop a
foreign policy strategy that reflects both the shifts in the global power balance and
the radically altered nature of international relations. Our answer to this question is
that foreign policy needs to be rethought. We underpin this by examining first how
the Netherlands can develop its own strategic foreign policy, then by explaining
how this policy could be embedded in Europe as the dominant policy arena, and
lastly by pointing out how such a strategic foreign policy could be put into practice.
8 attached to the world
From fragmentation to strategy
The agenda of topics in Dutch foreign policy has changed fundamentally.
National policy themes have become global issues, the international agenda has
expanded considerably, and the fixed order of policy themes has disappeared.
In addition, different policy areas have become interconnected and are no longer
addressed exclusively in the interstate arena (geopolitics), but also in intra-state
and non-state arenas (network world).
The Netherlands has traditionally aspired to play an active international role. The
government’s response to the turbulent expansion of the foreign policy agenda is
in line with this aspiration: doing as much as possible with as many partners as
possible. As illustrated by the traditional notion of the Netherlands as a ‘model
country’ or by recent Dutch contributions to international peace missions, Dutch
foreign policy is still firmly grounded in a deep-seated need to play a robust role in
the international arena. This has produced a foreign policy that could be likened to
a doughnut: a broad spectrum of aspirations, points of view and activities, without
a comprehensive vision connecting the various components and allowing
priorities and posteriorities to be determined.
Strategic foreign policy should go beyond the broad intentions that typify current
Dutch foreign policy. This means choosing, setting priorities and seeking areas in
which the Netherlands can make a difference. The first step towards achieving this
is to be aware of and acknowledge that we live in a hybrid world. Only when the
Dutch government realizes that its current foreign policy is insufficiently geared
to this reality can a strategic foreign policy be formulated. The second step
involves making choices and setting priorities across Dutch foreign policy as a
whole. The actual choices made are political in nature, but a transparent
deliberation framework would facilitate the decision-making process and increase
the accountability of those choices – especially in the prevailing situation of
financial austerity and cutbacks. Moreover, a prerequisite of a consistent policy is
that the Dutch are still able to recognize themselves in their country’s foreign
policy.
Our deliberation framework is based on three questions:
1 What is important for the Netherlands?
2 Where do the interests of other actors lie and what are they doing to achieve
them?
3 Where can the Netherlands make a difference?
Based on the answers to these questions, foreign policy can be divided into three
components. In the first place, foreign policy aims to defend the vital interests that
are irrevocably linked to the survival of the Netherlands, its people and its
territory. Because these vital interests are essential, there is no need to set
summary 9
priorities. This does not apply to the second component of foreign policy,
defending non-vital interests. The practical reality of complex interdependence in
international relations gives rise to a search for what this report calls extended
national interests, i.e. more specific areas where Dutch interests and global issues
coincide. That means searching for policy areas at the interface of global issues and
national interests. The third and final component of foreign policy consists of
‘niches’: specific areas of policy where the Netherlands wishes to make its
presence felt in the longer term. Developing these niches is highly relevant, as the
marketplace of international relations has become far too crowded for the
Netherlands to have a presence everywhere.
Europe as a dominant arena
Cooperation with other countries and organizations has been the cornerstone
of the Dutch government’s foreign policy for many decades. For the Netherlands,
the European Union (eu) is the dominant arena for that cooperation. If the
Netherlands wishes to achieve its foreign policy goals, it must exert influence in
this arena and excel here. With this in mind, it is helpful to approach the eufrom
two complementary perspectives. On the one hand, it can be seen as a political
arena in which laws and regulations are developed that apply to all member states.
On the other hand, the euis a stepping stone to the world, a kind of power bloc
that aims to exert its influence to defend fundamental European values and
interests.
Anyone considering the euas the dominant arena will see it as the appropriate
channel for the Netherlands to pursue its vital and extended national interests.
The most effective strategy is to translate Dutch interests into European
legislation or policy. The pressure to act as one has increased with the
institutionalization of the European Council. For a successful member state this
offers opportunities to connect and to advance its reputation.
European legislation and regulation are created through the interaction between
European institutions and various state and non-state actors. This process offers a
perfect opportunity to make Dutch policy productive, offering interesting
possibilities to influence European policies. Accepting Europe as the central
political arena and as the stepping stone to international issues calls for strategy,
making choices, planning an approach and mobilizing networks. This in turn
requires the Dutch government to develop into an enabling state, i.e. a govern-
mentthat enables other parties to conduct activities that are in both their own
interests and those of the Netherlands.
At the same time there is a certain built-in tension within the European construct
between collective aspirations and joint action on the one hand and the need for
individuality in the member states on the other. Bilateral policy-making and