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 […]
Collateral Damage: How EU Internal Policies Shape Crises and Conflict Abroad
Europe is increasingly affected by conflicts in its neighbourhood, but its ability to prevent and resolve them remains limited. This dilemma underlines the need for European foreign and security policy to make optimal use of tools, assets and resources available. The EU’s main framework to do so, the Integrated Approach to Conflicts and Crises, emphasises […]
Regional Fragmentation and EU Foreign and Security Policy
There is broad academic consensus on the fact that the fragmentation of regions presents a significant challenge for the EU. Fragmentation undermines the authority of central states, the EU’s most natural counterparts, and distributes it amongst a great number of actors – including non-state armed groups. To address fragmentation, the EU should increase coordination between […]
The Internal Contestation of EU Foreign and Security Policy
A Literature Review of the Implications of Intra-EU Contestation on Crises and Conflicts Abstract: A certain amount of political disagreement and internal debate within the member states has always been part of EU (foreign and security) policy-making. Over the past few years, however, domestic actors have fundamentally challenged, undermined and even reversed established EU norms, […]
Conceptualising the Multi-Actor Character of EU(rope)’s Foreign Policy
While there exists a plethora of theories aiming to make sense of the European Union and its foreign policy, no single existing theory has yet managed to capture the multi-actorness of what can be referred to as “the broader area of EU and European foreign and security policy”. A conceptual framework building on the current […]