Public Opinion and the European Foreign and Security Policy: Is there a Risk of Politicisation?
This paper explores the current state of contention in the European Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the conditions that could lead to its politicisation. We start from the question about why there has been so little progress in foreign and defence policy integration despite the widespread support for it from both the public […]
Unlocking EU Foreign and Security Potential: Measures to Mitigate Internal Contestation, Regional Fragmentation and Multipolar Competition
This paper investigates the potential avenues available to the European Union in implementing innovative strategies to mitigate challenges within its foreign and security policy (EUFSP) arising from three primary contextual elements: internal contestation, regional fragmentation and multipolar competition. The paper emphasises the significance of achieving a delicate equilibrium between ameliorating disagreements within the EU and […]
JOINT Effectiveness Checklist for EU Foreign and Security Policy in Conflict and Crisis Situations
The JOINT Effectiveness Checklist provides a comparatively simple framework for policy-makers and researchers to analyse the effectiveness of the EU’s response to conflicts and crises. It adds value to existing evaluation tools by a) assessing effectiveness relative to the level of difficulty of the policy environment, and b) adapting and further developing existing standard policy […]
European Public Opinion on the Challenges and Future of EU Foreign and Security Policy
The present report illustrates the results of a survey conducted in six European countries (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain) to assess public sentiments towards EU Foreign and Security Policy (EUFSP). Notably, the survey reveals a strong demand for more EUFSP, with a majority supporting a move away from the unanimity rule toward majority […]
How to Reduce the Impact of Internal Contestation, Regional Fragmentation and Multipolar Competition on EU Foreign and Security Policy
In a Union of 27 member states, differences in (geo)political interests, socio-economic realities, historical trajectories and national identity construction constantly threaten the internal unity and thus also the external coherence of EUFSP. The following three factors and their mutually reinforcing interplay appear to have a significant impact on the creation and shaping of EU foreign […]
Tackling the Constraints on EU Foreign Policy towards Ukraine: From Strategic Denial to Geopolitical Awakening
This report explores the evolution of EU policy towards Ukraine, with major turning points occurring in 2004, 2014 and February 2022 when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started. The dominant constraining factor in the case of Ukraine was multipolar (or rather bipolar) competition between the EU and Russia over the European political, economic and security […]
Framing Public Perception of the Challenges to the EU Foreign Security and Defence Policy. Focus Groups as a Method of Investigation
This report presents the results of twelve focus groups carried out in six European countries (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain) and addressing topics of concern for the study of EU foreign security and defence policy. In particular, participants were engaged in discussions on three main topics: (1) the most pressing international challenges and […]
A Joined-Up Union, a Stronger Europe. A Conceptual Framework to Investigate EU Foreign and Security Policy in a Complex and Contested World
Fractious domestic debates, the fragmentation of regional politics and growing interstate competition all affect the capacity of the EU to forge a joined-up and sustainable foreign and security policy (EUFSP) in crises and conflicts. The problem is amplified by EUFSP governance structures, which have evolved irregularly, with a multiplicity of actors resorting to an increasingly […]
Inventory of EUFSP-related Public and Elite Opinion Surveys
This study offers an inventory of elite and public opinion surveys on EU foreign and security policy (EUFSP). It first provides an analytical overview of the most relevant literature and data on the topic while exploring the theme of foreign and security policy from the angle of political elites’ attitudes and beliefs. In the second […]
The EU Strategic Compass: A Blueprint for a European Defensive and Securitisation Policy
On 21 March 2022, the Council of the European Union released the Strategic Compass for Security and Defence.[1] The document provides a thorough assessment of international affairs and is meant to guide the development of the EU security and defence agenda for the next decade. The Strategic Compass has been hailed as a framework for […]
The War in Ukraine and Studying the EU as a Security Actor
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the most serious conflict on the European continent since the Balkan wars of the 1990s, if not since World War II. The amount of military and civilian casualties, displaced persons and material destruction after two months of war is astonishing. Unlike the Balkan wars, the direct involvement […]
Multipolarity and EU Foreign and Security Policy: Divergent Approaches to Conflict and Crisis Response
Growing multipolar competition affects the ability of the EU and its member states to formulate and implement common action on crises and conflicts. The effort by the “international community” to ensure global security and peace is weakening due to a divergence in the approaches to crises and conflicts by the major powers, which are often […]