Security Relations between China and the European Union: From Convergence to Cooperation?

Over the past decade, the EU and China have expanded their relations beyond a focus on economic and trade issues to the sphere of security. Taking a broad definition of security, a multidisciplinary approach, and a comparative perspective (including scholars from both Europe and China), this book provides an in-depth analysis of the extent to which the EU and China not only express similar threat concerns, or make declarations about joint responses, but also adopt concrete measures in the pursuance of security cooperation. In particular, the book seeks to explore a range of key themes in the field of EU-China security cooperation such as nuclear proliferation, international terrorist threats and cyber attacks. Besides providing an overview of the areas where security cooperation exists and where it does not, it also highlights the aspects of convergence and divergence and the reasons for their occurrence.

Emil J. Kirchner is Jean Monnet Professor and Coordinator of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the University of Essex. His research and publications deal with EU security policy and EU-Asian relations.

Thomas Christiansen holds a Chair in European Institutional Politics at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, and is also part-time professor at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute, Florence. He has published widely on different aspects of European integration.

Han Dorussen is Professor of Political Science at the University of Essex and has published widely on trade and conflict, peacekeeping operations, and the governance of post-conflict societies, civil protection, and policy convergence in the European Union.