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(Not) Coming of age? : unpacking the European Union's quest for strategic autonomy in security and defence
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0966-2839; 1746-1545
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European security, 2024, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 383-405
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MICHAELS, Eva, SUS, Monika, (Not) Coming of age? : unpacking the European Union’s quest for strategic autonomy in security and defence, European security, 2024, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 383-405 - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/77899
Abstract
Russia’s large-scale aggression against Ukraine brought back the debate about the European Union’s strategic autonomy ambitions in security and defence. The notion had slipped off the EU’s radar following the post-2016 thematic shift in strategic autonomy discussions to global economic interdependencies. Our article contributes to an appraisal of the strategic autonomy debate in security and defence since Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine, while also tracing the emergence and revival of the concept over the past 25 years. By unpacking the EU’s quest for strategic autonomy as a process of maturation since the late 1990s, we examine the extent to which the EU has grown into an autonomous security and defence actor. We further discuss the implications of maturation for EU security and defence policy. Drawing on 20 semi-structured interviews with policymakers and foreign policy experts in seven member states, our study brings the underexplored aspect of national acceptability of EU external action to the fore. We show that significant progress has been made regarding both ideational and material aspects of EU security and defence policy. Yet, prevailing differences in underlying national beliefs, perceptions and goals about security and defence continue to hamper the Union’s further maturation.
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European Commission, 962533
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The authors acknowledge the support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 researchand innovation programme [grant number 962533], the National Science Centre [grant numberUMO-2018/31/B/HS5/03694] and the Generalitat de Catalunya/AGAUR [grant number 2020BP00210].