Research project AP/27 (Research action AP)
The European Security and Defense Policy/Common Foreign and Security Policy (ESDP/CFSP) is a newly expanding domain of the European integration. It is nowadays very marked by intergovernmentalism but it is actually on the top of the European move because of the latest institutional and fundamental developments. The set of values and processes necessary for the European security challenges must benefit from large broadcasting through cultural vectors in order to grow. The Royal Military Academy is seeking to assume this role of an “ESDP culture” vector with this research.
The adaptation of the Education Policy for the Royal Military Academy to the evolution of the European Common Security Policy is a formal and fundamental thinking about the mission of the future European officer and the growing internationalization of its role.
The Royal Military Academy (RMA) is the main institution in Belgium responsible for the education of the officers of all components of the Army, ensuring both military training and academic education. Therefore, its mission is double while affected not only by the European developments in military matters – ESDP in the wider area of CFSP - but also by those in academic matters .
“Adaptation” is thus undertaken as a two-way relationship. If the Royal Military Academy is meant to adapt its Education Policy to the relative European contexts, it will nevertheless contribute by its education to the becoming of these European policies: “ C’est (…) dans cette école et cet Institut qu’ils doivent apprendre et ultérieurement approfondir leur métier d’officiers, mais désormais c’est aussi ici qu’ils doivent apprendre le rôle qui est le leur dans la défense de l’Europe et dans la promotion d’un monde plus juste ”
In a first phase, an evaluation of the answer of the RMA Education Policy to the potential European requirements will be done. It will consist in identifying how the vectors chosen by the Royal Military Academy to adapt itself to the European frameworks – Teaching and Collaboration policies affected by the so-called Bologna Process and the Erasmus-Socrates exchange programs – may nowadays be used for broadcasting the emerging ESDP culture.
After establishing the profile of the Education at the Royal Military Academy and the ESDP political challenges, this method will be applied to the other officer education policies in the European countries which feel they are also facing these demands. We shall thus came up with different models of European values broadcasting which would allow us to foresee potential adaptations to the RMA Education Policy.
The following prospective phase of the research will consequently concretely envisage the potential adaptations to give to the cultural vectors. Examples would be in terms of Teaching structures or military or academic European collaborations.
This study will then end up with a European seminar – organised by the Royal Military Academy – meant to communicate its outcomes and orientate the debate toward the visions of a future ESDP.
