The Future of the EU as a Military Hard Power: A US political perspective

The current war in Ukraine and the coinciding tectonic shifts in geopolitics have made discussions about the role of the US as the security provider of the European continent and the increased role of the EU as a security actor within the European security architecture more relevant than ever. It is therefore crucial to understand the US White House perspectives on the development of the EU as a more autonomous security actor. That is why this thesis analyses the research question ‘Has the US perspective on the development of the EU as a more autonomous security actor changed under the administrations of Trump and Biden and if so how?’ by using a critical discourse analysis. The findings underpin that this perspective has changed from a skeptical and critical perspective under the Trump administration to a supportive and stimulating perspective under the Biden administration. This change is meaningful as it has contributed to a context whereby EU defence policies can be realized...Show moreThe current war in Ukraine and the coinciding tectonic shifts in geopolitics have made discussions about the role of the US as the security provider of the European continent and the increased role of the EU as a security actor within the European security architecture more relevant than ever. It is therefore crucial to understand the US White House perspectives on the development of the EU as a more autonomous security actor. That is why this thesis analyses the research question ‘Has the US perspective on the development of the EU as a more autonomous security actor changed under the administrations of Trump and Biden and if so how?’ by using a critical discourse analysis. The findings underpin that this perspective has changed from a skeptical and critical perspective under the Trump administration to a supportive and stimulating perspective under the Biden administration. This change is meaningful as it has contributed to a context whereby EU defence policies can be realized more easily, while also leading to actual steps of enhanced cooperative US-EU security measures contributing to the further development of the EU as a more autonomous security actor. This change can be explained by two core reasons. First, perceptions will differ when two administrations look at the same international strategic context, which is shifting towards a multipolar world order, through different lenses. Second, in certain circumstances these lenses must bow to the hard reality of the international strategic context if it is sufficiently undeniable. This led to a situation whereby the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine made the Biden administration realize that it needs the EU as a partner in order to defend the US led world order and hegemonial position with multiple geopolitical threats now coming its way, the most important one still coming from China.Show less

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The Future of the EU as a Military Hard Power: A US political perspective