The United Kingdom’s Defence After Brexit: Britain’s Alliances, Coalitions, and Partnerships

269 Pages·2019·2.09 MB·English

by  Rob Johnson

THE UNITED KINGDOM’S
DEFENCE AFTER BREXIT
Britain’s Alliances,
Coalitions,
& Partnerships
EDITED BY
Rob Johnson and
Janne Haaland Matlary
The United Kingdom’s Defence After Brexit
Rob Johnson · Janne Haaland Matlary
Editors
The United
Kingdom’s Defence
After Brexit
Britain’s Alliances, Coalitions, and Partnerships
Editors
Rob Johnson Janne Haaland Matlary
Changing Character of War Centre Department of Political Science
University of Oxford University of Oslo
Oxford, UK Oslo, Norway
ISBN 978-3-319-97168-1 ISBN 978-3-319-97169-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97169-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018950558
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F
oreword
The UniTed Kingdom ChieF oF The deFenCe STaFF
The military cooperation between the United Kingdom, the United
States, and NATO in Europe is fundamental to the future of our Alliance
as it approaches its 70th birthday. There is also no doubt that we live in
an era of profound and far-reaching change. Few of these changes are
in favour of those who support the rules-based international order. It is
imperative that we develop a better understanding of the character of the
changing international climate and of the opportunities that are emerg-
ing. New technologies will give us a chance to enhance our defence and
security, but we also need to pay attention to how we organize ourselves,
our systems, and the ways in which we sustain, maintain, and develop
our cooperation. I am therefore delighted to see this volume, the prod-
uct of academic and military collaboration, with views from across the
Alliance, which explains where the challenges lie and how they are being
approached. The United Kingdom is taking the lead in several aspects of
Europe’s defence, and working closely with all our partners, to ensure
that we can pursue our democratic way of life, free of threat, interference
or attack, throughout this turbulent and uncertain era and beyond.
London, UK Sir Stuart Peach,GBE, KCB, ADC, DL
Air Chief Marshal
v
P
reFaCe
This book project grew out of our interest in military integration in
Europe at a time when it faces both conventional risks as well as irreg-
ular threats. It is evident that Western states must cooperate in order
to cope with rising defence costs and the implementation of new tech-
nologies. Interoperability is also a vital component of operational effec-
tiveness. When there is cooperation, the overall strategic impact of the
Western allies is enhanced significantly, especially for smaller states who
find themselves confronted by larger, more aggressive neighbours. We
therefore took particular interest in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF),
a unique constellation of mostly NATO member states but with the full
participation of Finland and Sweden. This British-led force structure is
flexible and adjustable, it can deploy rapidly, and it can undertake any
type of operation. With a small number of well-integrated armed forces,
drawn from its participating nations, its ability to act quickly provides
considerable strategic advantage.
NATO is undoubtedly led by the United States, so our interest in
Britain may seem surprising. There are several reasons for the emphasis
of the volume. The first is that Britain has designed and developed the
JEF at a time when crisis can escalate quickly. It is organized specifically
to conduct fast-moving operations, including information warfare, as
part of a longer British tradition in its posture of global response. Britain
undoubtedly plays the leading role in Northern European defence and
security, with its maritime interests in the North Atlantic and the free-
dom of the seas, its special relationship with the US and its close
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viii PREFACE
cooperation with France. Indeed, cooperation with France deepened in
the 2010s and took the form of a joint brigade, combined air operations
over Syria, and cooperation in maritime aviation. As its national strategy
makes clear, Britain values and spearheads its partnerships and its coali-
tions.
What was less clear was the impact of Brexit on its role. When added
to the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration’s foreign and
security policy, and aggressive Russian posturing against NATO, we
decided that it is time to re-examine the key role that Britain plays in
European defence and security policy. That meant not only an examina-
tion of the British position, capability and intentions, but American and
European views of their British allies.
We are very grateful to the Norwegian Ministry of Defence for a research
grant that allowed us to do this as well as to the Department of Political
Science, University of Oslo for providing funds for language-editing. All
Souls College, Oxford University, and the Norwegian Command and Staff
College arranged and two workshops for the research group for which we
thank these institutions.
Oxford, UK Rob Johnson
Oslo, Norway Janne Haaland Matlary
May 2018
C
onTenTS
1 Introduction 1
Rob Johnson and Janne Haaland Matlary
Part I Britain’s Partnerships
2 UK Defence Policy: The ‘New Canada’
and ‘International by Design’ 33
Rob Johnson
3 The US–UK Special Relationship and the “Principled
Realism” of the Trump Administration 59
Andrew A. Michta
4 ‘You Don’t Hear the Word Britain Anymore’:
Anglo-American Security Relations in the Era
of Brexit and Trump 75
Jeffrey H. Michaels
5 Franco-British Defence Co-operation in the Context
of Brexit 103
Samuel B. H. Faure
ix
x CONTENTS
6 British-German Defence and Security Relations After
Brexit: Quo Vadis, ‘Silent Alliance’? 127
Håkon Lunde Saxi
7 A Special Partnership? The EU’s Military Ambition
and the Role of Britain 159
Janne Haaland Matlary
Part II Britain’s Coalitions
8 Britain’s Joint Expeditionary Force: A Force of Friends? 189
Tormod Heier
9 Sweden, Finland, and the Defence of the Nordic-Baltic
Region—Ways of British Leadership 215
Joakim Erma Møller and Magnus Petersson
10 The JEF as a Force Multiplier: The Example of Joint
Amphibious Response in the Nordic-Baltic Theatre 245
Richard Cantrill and Eystein Lockwood Meyer
n C
oTeS on onTribUTorS
Col. Richard Cantrill, O.B.E., M.C. is a Colonel in the Royal
Marines, currently assigned dual hatted as Chief of Staff to the
Commander UK Amphibious Forces and EU Operation Atalanta. His
early career was focused on reconnaissance and mountain and cold
weather warfare, and after assignments as Company Commander in
Afghanistan and a Military Assistant, to DCDS Military Strategy and
Operations, he served as the Commanding Officer of 42 Commando
Royal Marines. He holds a Master’s degree in Defence Studies from
Kings College London.
Dr. Samuel B. H. Faure is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Nuffield
College at the University of Oxford. He is also an associate mem-
ber at the Maison française d’Oxford (MFO), and a research associate
at the SciencesPo’s Center for International Research (CERI) in Paris.
His first book, entitled Défense européenne: émergence d’une culture
stratégique commune (‘European Defence: The Emergence of a Common
Strategic Culture’) has been published in 2016. He has also published
in European Security, Politique européenne and St Antony’s International
Review.
Dr. Tormod Heier is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Norwegian Army
and holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Oslo. He
has previously served in the Norwegian Intelligence Service and in
the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, and has edited several books on
Norwegian and European security and defence policy.
xi