COVID-19 as a prestige-promoting mechanism: PESCO framework as an opportunity for EU member states

• Authors: Valerijs Bodnieks , Sintija Broka
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The goal of this study is to identify whether PESCO can be one of the tools for future projects in medicine and whether it can be used to strengthen the military medicine of the EU and, simultaneously, be in synergy with the civilian sector by providing support to the civilian field, and, finally, can EU member states increase their prestige through PESCO. The study, which is based on qualitative research methods, shows that based on Latvia’s case, strengthening the medical field by participating in PESCO can lead to countries promoting their prestige on the international stage, as well as strengthening civil-military cooperation to build much stronger policies within the EU member states. Firstly, the findings showed that from all 47 PESCO projects, only two are related to the field of medicine. Secondly, with the whole world being affected by COVID-19, PESCO can be used for new projects related to the field of medicine. Thirdly, different types of projects can be initiated under PESCO, for example, a new kind of transport for evacuation, new types of medical devices, the creation of new regional laboratories and research centres, development of new analytical and biotechnological equipment, improvement of logistic chains, the establishment of unique and specific training institutions for civilian and military medics, and the development and use of robotic technologies or drones. Finally, countries that engage in epidemiological security measures during COVID 19 are clearly enhancing their prestige by not only demonstrating their readiness to react to the current situation, but also by taking practical action.

Keywords

EN

prestige; defence; realism; PESCO; COVID-19

• Publisher: Akademia Sztuki Wojennej
• Journal: Security and Defence Quarterly
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 55-68

Dates

published

2020-12-30

received

2020-08-10

revised

2020-11-28

accepted

2020-12-02

Contributors

author

Valerijs Bodnieks

• Political Sciece, Riga Stradiņš University, Latvia

author

Sintija Broka

• Political Science, Riga Stradiņš University, Dzirciema 16, LV-1007, Riga, Latvia

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Identifiers

DOI

10.35467/sdq/131108