![Professor Michael Smith Professor Michael Smith](/img/200x200/staffpages/uploads/pol279/avatar/eNZVHly6r74ACiLC5E6fHrV4tsdfF37zBVuEoJS8.png)
BA, MA, PhD
Chair in International Relations
- About
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- Email Address
- m.e.smith@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 272707
- Office Address
Room F27, Edward Wright Building
- School/Department
- School of Social Science
Biography
Professor Michael E. Smith joined the University of Aberdeen in 2010; prior to that he was a Reader in International Relations at the University of St Andrews and an Associate Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of California (Irvine) as well as an MA in International Affairs from The George Washington University. He has been a Fulbright scholar to the European Union in Brussels, a Council for European Studies fellow, a visiting research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, a University of California Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation/MacArthur Foundation fellow, and a distinguished scholar at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies of the European University Institute in Italy. Professor Smith also was the founder and first co-chair of the “EU as a Global Actor” interest section of the European Union Studies Association (2003-07), and he is on the editorial boards of Contemporary Security Policy and European Security.
His publications include two research monographs on European security with Cambridge University Press, one of the first comprehensive studies of the European Neighbourhood Policy, a 1,600-page edited compendium on European security studies, several award-winning journal articles, contributions to over twenty edited volumes, and an innovative research-focused textbook on international security studies. He has also served as an external reviewer for the Economic & Social Research Council (UK) and the Research Executive Agency of the EU (remotely and in Brussels), as an evaluator of academic programmes in the UK, and as a consultant to firms bidding for EU research contracts.
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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2019 - 22 Head of Politics & International Relations
2017 - 22 Academic Line Manager, School of Social Science, Univ. of Aberdeen
2013 - 17 Director of Postgraduate Research Programmes, Dept. of Politics and IR, Univ. of Aberdeen
2011 - 14 Member, College of Arts & Social Sciences REF Committee, Univ. of Aberdeen
2010 - 14 Member, School of Social Sciences Research Committee, Univ. of Aberdeen
2010 - 14 Research Coordinator, Dept. of Politics & International Relations, Univ. of Aberdeen
2007 - 08 Program coordinator, MLitt in International Security, Univ. of St Andrews
2006 - 08 Member, Post-Graduate Committee, School of International Relations, Univ. of St Andrews
2004 - 05 Member of the Undergraduate Committee, Faculty Senate, GSU
2004 - 05 Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Political Science, GSU
2004 - 05 Member of the Executive Committee, Department of Political Science, GSU
2004 - 05 Member of the Core Curriculum Accreditation Committee, College of Arts & Sciences, GSU
2001 – 05 Fulbright Grant Programme Coordinator, College of Arts & Sciences, GSU
1999 – 05 Various faculty search committees, Department of Political Science, GSU
1998 Faculty search committee, Department of Politics & Society, UC Irvine
- External Memberships
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* Member, American Political Science Association (section memberships: European Politics & Society; International Security and Arms Control).
* Member, European Union Studies Association (section membership: EU as a Global Actor).
* Member, International Studies Association (section memberships: International Political Economy; International Organization; International Security).
* Member, University Association for Contemporary European Studies.
* Founder and first elected co-chair (2003-05; re-elected 2005-07), "The EU as a Global Actor" special interest section, European Union Studies Association.
* Contracted grant proposal reviewer for the European Research Council (2008 – 2013).
* Contracted expert for the EU Research Executive Agency (2013)
* Grant award rapporteur for the Economic and Social Research Council (UK)
* Article reviewer for: The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Comparative European Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Cooperation and Conflict, East European Politics, European Journal of International Relations, European Journal of International Security, European Journal of Political Research, European Political Science Review, European Politics & Society, European Security, European Union Politics, Europe-Asia Studies, Foreign Policy Analysis, Global Affairs, Global Policy, Global Society, Governance, International Relations, Journal of Common Market Studies, Journal of Conflict Studies, Journal of European Integration, Journal of European Public Policy, New Political Economy, The Political Chronicle, Political Studies, Political Studies Review, Politics and Governance, Public Policy and Administration, Review of International Political Economy, Review of International Studies, Sage Open, Security Studies, Swiss Political Science Review, Review of International Studies, and West European Politics.
* Book proposal/manuscript reviewer for: Cambridge University Press, Cornell University Press, Manchester University Press, Oxford University Press, Addison Wesley, Longman, Rowman-Littlefield, Palgrave-Macmillan, Prentice-Hall, and Routledge.
* Editorial board member, Journal of European Public Policy (2005-19); European Security (2009 – present); Contemporary Security Policy (2015-22).
* Visiting professor, College of Europe (Natolin, Poland); taught 'Perspectives on International & European Security' (2021-22)
* External programme reviewer (2015), MA in European Studies, University of Dundee.
* External Examiner (2007-2010), Department of European Politics, University of Bath.
* External PhD Examiner (2007-present), Univ. of Loughborough; Univ. of Lancaster; Univ. of Limerick; European University Institute.
- Research
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Research Overview
International security; international cooperation/organization/institutions; conflict resolution; social/experiential learning; regional integration/governance; Europe/European Union; the international politics of science/technology.
Current Research
Most of Professor Smith’s theoretical work involves international cooperation, conflict resolution, and global governance in difficult issue-areas, particularly security and technology. He pays special attention to the advanced industrialized democracies, particularly the US and Europe, and attempts to combine international-level theories of institution-building with domestic-level theories of state/societal politics (focused on social networks and learning) to explain how states manage (or fail to manage) their contemporary collective action problems. These problems include free-riding, political market failure, regulatory gaps, conflict or dispute resolution/mitigation, and the reduction of negative externalities such as environmental harm. Much of this work involves the European Union and the question of regional cooperation/integration, and Professor Smith is a widely cited expert on the EU's pursuit of a common foreign/security/defence policy. One of his articles on the topic, which investigated the legalisation of European foreign policy cooperation, was awarded the best article of the year award from the Journal of Common Market Studies (2002). A second article of his, which proposed a theory of EU foreign policy-making, was awarded the most downloaded article of the year award from the Journal of European Public Policy (2007). His book Europe's Foreign and Security Policy: The Institutionalization of Cooperation (Cambridge) is also a standard theoretical reference in the field.
Professor Smith also won one of the first major research awards from the EU's European Research Council in 2007; this grant funded a five-year project (2008-13) with over one million euros to investigate the rapid growth of EU crisis management/conflict resolution operations since 2003. This work led to a related project of his on the EU's pursuit of a global/grand strategy, and his first article on this topic won the most downloaded article of the year award from the Journal of European Public Policy in 2014. A research monograph based on the ERC-funded project, Europe's Common Security and Defence Policy: Capacity Building, Experiential Learning, and Institutional Change, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2017. A follow-on project of his involves collaboration with a consortium (EU-CIVCAP) funded by the EU's Horizon2020 scheme; this three-year (2016-18) project investigates the EU's civilian capacities in the realm of conflict prevention and peacebuilding (see http://www.eu-civcap.net/). The purpose of EU-CIVCAP is threefold:
1. To assess EU civilian capabilities for external conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
2. To identify and document lessons learned and best practices in EU conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
3. To enhance future policy practice and research on EU conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
Professor Smith is responsible for the lessons learned and best practices component of EU-CIVCAP, as well as a report on future EU research priorities in this area. In addition, he also recently edited a four-volume set for the Routledge Major Works collection of reference works; this project (approx. 1,600 pages) focuses on European Security and covers a wide range of traditional and new security issues. Finally, beyond his ongoing work on international/European security, Professor Smith is currently writing a book about the international political consequences of revolutionary technologies. This research develops a single analytical framework to explain the multiple political disputes and solutions generated by the development of five modern revolutionary technologies. Truly revolutionary technologies tend to inspire the same types of international collective action problems, ranging from disputes over property rights to incompatible networking standards to concerns about public safety and environmental harm. Yet the rules devised to manage these problems can vary widely depending on the specific technologies and stakeholders involved; this variance can be explained in terms of several general hypotheses examined throughout the volume. Findings from this project should enable us to predict the likely political consequences, and effective global management, of current and future revolutionary technologies.
Funding and Grants
2018 Robert Schuman Fellowship, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (European Univerity Institute, Florence). Project title: From the EU Global Strategy to a Security Union? Power, Institutions, and the Credibility Deficit. €9,000.
2016-18 European Union Horizon2020 research grant: Preventing and Responding to Conflict: Developing EU Civilian Capacities for Sustainable Peace (consortium member). Total award: €1,714,976 (my portion €141,738).
2014 Economic and Social Research Council (United Kingdom) research grant: Social Media - Developing Understanding, Infrastructure, and Engagement (co-investigator). Total award: £550,000 (my portion £1,600).
2008–13 Starting Independent Researcher Grant, European Research Council: A European Approach to Conflict Resolution? Institutional Learning and the ESDP (primary investigator). Total award: €1,019,029.
2008 Research grant, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland (£1,800)
2006 Workshop funding, European Union Center of Syracuse University ($6,000)
2004-05 Workshop funding, European Union Center of the University System of Georgia ($10,000)
2004 Workshop funding, European Union Center of the University System of Georgia ($5,000)
2004 Workshop funding, European Union Centers of Syracuse University and the University System of Georgia ($26,000)
2001 Research grant, Swedish Government Information Service ($2,500)
2000 Research grant, European Union Center of the University System of Georgia ($1,500)
2000 Economic and Social Research Council (United Kingdom) research grant (participating investigator with Brian Salter), Innovative Health Technologies (Biotechnology) Program (my portion: $3,000)
1997-98 University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation/MacArthur Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, Regional Relations program ($16,000)
1997 University of California Regent's Dissertation Fellowship ($3,000)
1995-96 Fulbright Dissertation Fellowship, European Union program, Brussels ($15,000)
1993-95 Research Assistantships in European integration, Department of Politics and Society, UC-Irvine (various amounts)
1995 Council for European Studies pre-dissertation Fellowship ($3,000)
1991-93 Wolcott Foundation full tuition fellowship, George Washington University ($20,000)
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
IR 3018: International Security (course coordinator/lecturer; from autumn 2013)
IR 4534: Science, Technology & International Relations (course coordinator/lecturer; from spring 2021)
PI 1018: Introduction to Politics & International Relations (lecturer and co-coordinator; from autumn 2015)
- Publications
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Page 1 of 1 Results 1 to 51 of 51
Transatlantic security relations since the European security strategy: what role for the EU in its pursuit of strategic autonomy?
Journal of European Integration, vol. 40, no. 5, pp. 605-620Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEU-CIVCAP Catalogue of Lessons Identified in EU Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding
Commissioned by European Commission. Bristol. 37 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned ReportsLearning in European Union peacebuilding: rhetoric and reality
Global Affairs, vol. 4, no. 2-3, pp. 215-225Contributions to Journals: ArticlesInstitutional Learning and Lessons Identified in EU Civilian Conflict Prevention: A Framework for Analysis
Commissioned by European Commission. Bristol: EU-CIVCAP. 28 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned ReportsEurope's Common Security and Defence Policy: Capacity-Building, Experiential Learning, and Institutional Change
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 332 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316779545
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
International Security: Politics, Policy, Prospects
Palgrave Macmillan. 496 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] Publishers link to book information.
Adapting the Acquis Politique: The Foreign/Security Policy Implications of EU Membership
The Challenges of European Governance in the Age of Economic Stagnation, Immigration, and Refugees. Carey, H. (ed.). Lexington Books, pp. 89-100, 11 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersReport on future priorities for Horizon Europe security research
Commissioned by European Commission. Bristol. 42 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned ReportsImplementing the Global Strategy where it matters most: the EU’s credibility deficit and the European neighbourhood
Contemporary Security Policy, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 446-460Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMaritime Security and the CSDP: Interests, Operational Experience, and Strategies
The EU, Strategy, and Security Policy: Regional and Strategic Challenges. Chappell, L., Mawdsley, J., Petrov, P. (eds.). RoutledgeChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersIntroduction
European Security. Smith, M. E. (ed.). RoutledgeChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersThe New Intergovernmentalism and Experiential Learning in the Common Security and Defence Policy
The New Intergovernmentalism: States and Supranational Actors in the Post-Maastricht Era. Bickerton, C. J., Hodson, D., Puetter, U. (eds.). Oxford University Press, 19 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersEuropean Security
Routledge. 1606 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksThe European Gendarmerie Force: a solution in search of problems?
European Security, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 1-20Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2012.747511
Institutionalizing the 'Comprehensive Approach' to EU Security
European Foreign Affairs Review, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 25-43Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe European External Action Service and the security-development nexus: organizing for effectiveness or incoherence?
Journal of European Public Policy, vol. 20, no. 9, pp. 1299-1315Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2012.758441
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/3308/1/EEAS_bureaucracy.docx
Developing a ‘Comprehensive Approach’ to International Security: Institutional Learning and the ESDP
Constructing a Policy-Making State?: Policy Dynamics in the EU. Richardson, J. (ed.). Oxford University PressChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersForeword: EU External Relations Law and Policy in the Post-Lisbon Era
Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Forewords and Postscripts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-6704-823-1
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
The external dimension of justice and home affairs: a different security agenda for the European Union?
European Security, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 593-595Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2011.629191
A Liberal Grand Strategy in a Realist World?: Power, Purpose, and the EU’s Changing Global Role
Journal of European Public Policy, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 144-163Contributions to Journals: ArticlesImplementation
The International Relations of the European Union. Hill, C., Smith, M. (eds.). Second edition. Oxford University PressChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersNorms, Institutions, and EU Foreign Policy: Advancing the Research Programme
Making EU Foreign Policy. Thomas, D. (ed.). Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 217-233, 16 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersInternational Security: Politics, Policy, Prospects
Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, United Kingdom. 320 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksEuropean Foreign Policy
Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Entries for Encyclopedias and DictionariesRe-thinking European security interests and the ESDP: explaining the EU's anti-piracy operation
Contemporary Security Policy, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 573-593Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260903327741
Technology Change, Rule Change, and the Law of Armed Conflict
War, Torture, and Terrorism. Lang, A., Beattie, A. (eds.). RoutledgeChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersResearching European Foreign Policy: Some Fundamentals
Politics, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 177-187Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9256.2008.00327.x
Eastern Europe and the European Neighbourhood Policy: Prospects and Challenges
Integrating with the European Union: Accession, Association, and Neighbourhood Policy. Cabada, L., Mravinac, M. (eds.). Prague Metropolitan UniversityChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersPolitical Dialogue and Security in the European Neighbourhood: The Virtues and Limits of 'New Partnership Perspectives'
European Foreign Affairs Review, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 73-95Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGoverning Europe's Neighbourhood: Partners or Periphery?
Manchester University Press, Manchester, United Kingdom. 272 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksConclusion: The ENP and external governance in theory and practice
Governing Europe's Neigbhourhood: Partners or Periphery?. Weber, K., Smith, M., Baun, M. (eds.). Manchester University Press, pp. 218-231, 14 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersGovernance Theories, Regional Integration, and EU Foreign Policy
Governing Europe's Neighbourhood: Partners or Periphery?. Weber, K., Smith, M., Baun, M. (eds.). Manchester University Press, pp. 3-Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersPolitical Dialogue and Security: The CFSP and ESDP
Governing Europe's Neighbourhood: Partners or Periphery?. Weber, K., Smith, M., Baun, M. (eds.). Manchester University Press, pp. 58-75, 18 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersUnderstanding the European Union as a Global Political Actor: Theory, Practice, and Impact
Making History: European Integration and Institutional Change at Fifty. McNamara, K., Meunier, S. (eds.). Oxford University Press, pp. 267-282, 17 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersInternational Interests: The CFSP
The Institutions of the European Union. Peterson, J., Shackleton, M. (eds.). Oxford University PressChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersCoherence and Conditionality in European Foreign Policy: Negotiating the EU-Mexico Global Agreement
Journal of Common Market Studies, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 171-192Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9886.2005.00551.x
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/2067/1/Smith_Coherence_and_conditionality_in_European_foreign_policy_article.doc
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/2067/2/Smith_Coherence_and_conditionality_in_European_foreign_policy_references.doc
Implementation: Making the EU's International Relations Work
The International Relations of the European Union. Hill, C., Smith, M. (eds.). 4th edition. Oxford University Press, pp. 154-176, 21 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersInstitutionalization, policy adaptation, and European foreign policy cooperation
European Journal of International Relations, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 95-136Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066104040570
Interest Groups, Institutions, and Expertise: The New Politics of EU Biotechnology Regulation
Contemporary Issues and Debates in EU Policy: The European Union and International Relations. Koutrakou, V. (ed.). Manchester University Press, pp. 232-248, 16 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersToward a Theory of EU Foreign Policy Making: Multi-level Governance, Domestic Politics, and National Adaptation to Europe's Common Foreign and Security Policy
Journal of European Public Policy, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 740-758Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEurope's Foreign and Security Policy: The Institutionalization of Cooperation
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United KIngdom. 308 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksThe EU as a Global Actor
The European Union: How Does It Work?. Bomberg, E., Stubb, A. (eds.). 2 edition. Oxford University Press, pp. 195-215, 22 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersDiplomacy by Decree: The Legalization of EU Foreign Policy
Journal of Common Market Studies, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 79-104Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe Quest for Coherence: Institutional Dilemmas of External Action from Maastricht to Amsterdam
The Institutionalization of Europe. Stone Sweet, A., Fligstein, N., Sandholtz, W. (eds.). Oxford University Press, pp. 171-193, 23 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersConforming to Europe: The Domestic Impact of EU Foreign Policy Cooperation
Journal of European Public Policy, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 613-631Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEuropean Security Cooperation: The European Union's Evaluation and Responses
NATO and the European Union: Confronting the Challenges of European Security Cooperation. Papacosma, S. V., Laurent, P. (eds.). Lyman L. Lemnitzer Center for NATO and European Union StudiesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersCongress, the President, and Military Intervention: Cooperation or Conflict in the Post-Cold War Era?
Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 28, pp. 36-50Contributions to Journals: ArticlesRules, Transgovernmentalism, and the Expansion of European Political Cooperation
European Integration and Supranational Governance. Sandholtz, W., Stone Sweet, A. (eds.). Oxford University Press, pp. 304-344, 41 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersWhat's Wrong with the Common Foreign and Security Policy?: The Politics of Institutional Reform
The State of the European Union: Volume 4. Laurent, P., Maresceau, M. (eds.). Lynne RiennerChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersSending the Bundeswehr to the Balkans: The Domestic Politics of Reflexive Multilateralism
German Politics and Society, vol. 41, pp. 49-67Contributions to Journals: ArticlesInstitutions and Leadership: Germany, Maastricht, and the ERM Crisis
The State of the European Union: Volume 3. Rhodes, C., Mazey, S. (eds.). Lynne RiennerChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters