FINLAND & PALESTINE Proceedings of a Joint Workshop

ing factors may include the need for formation of the Union's
institutional identity, the promotion of its values, and the defense
of its (or its Member States') interests. Action is usually
multidimensional, in the sense that, it has different purposes,
whether or not all of them are stated explicitly.
2. Civilian vs. Military Identity
Now, before going to some examples illustrating the motivating
factors in the EU's action in the Middle East, let us discuss
briefly the debate that has been going on for quite a while on
the Union's essence.
Originally, the term 'civilian power' was used in reference to
West Germany and Japan to contrast the growing economic
power of the two countries with their military dependence on
the United States, and their limited political independence. The
'civilian power approach' was then expanded by Fran~ois
Duchene who applied the concept to the European Economic
Community (EEC) as an opposite to the traditional idea of military
power. 3
The enlargement of the Union is one of the most vivid illustrations
of the influence that non-military means can have. Democratization
of Greece, Spain and Portugal in the 1980s, and
the transformation of the Central and Eastern European countries
in the 1990s, are developments that hardly could have
been achieved by reliance on military power. Vet, there has
been an increasing sense that, in order to be credible and influential,
the Union should develop into a full-fledged international
actor.
3 See e.g. Stavridis (2001) for the initial debate around the concept. See also
Bull (1982).
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