The Dutch contribution to European Strategic Autonomy: Not throwing away their old shoes before they get new ones

In recent years, European Strategic Autonomy has become a buzzword hroughout European politics. Events like the election of Donald Trump in 2016 and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine have fueled the idea that Europe should become more independent regarding its defence policy. But was has actually been done in recent years to increase European Strategic Autonomy? The aim of this study is to analyze the Dutch contribution to European Strategic Autonomy, therefore the following research question was used: ‘How can the Dutch response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine support an increase in European Strategic Autonomy?’ Developing a conceptual model based on the idea of ‘actorness’, the study reasons that European Strategic Autonomy consists of four variables: political autonomy, institutional autonomy, capability autonomy and industrial autonomy. Using a combination of interviews and document research, the contribution of the Dutch Rutte IV government to each of those four...Show moreIn recent years, European Strategic Autonomy has become a buzzword hroughout European politics. Events like the election of Donald Trump in 2016 and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine have fueled the idea that Europe should become more independent regarding its defence policy. But was has actually been done in recent years to increase European Strategic Autonomy? The aim of this study is to analyze the Dutch contribution to European Strategic Autonomy, therefore the following research question was used: ‘How can the Dutch response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine support an increase in European Strategic Autonomy?’ Developing a conceptual model based on the idea of ‘actorness’, the study reasons that European Strategic Autonomy consists of four variables: political autonomy, institutional autonomy, capability autonomy and industrial autonomy. Using a combination of interviews and document research, the contribution of the Dutch Rutte IV government to each of those four variables is analyzed. The answer to the research question is that the Dutch response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine increased European Strategic Autonomy by increasing the political will to conduct autonomous European military operations, increasing Europe’s military capabilities and increasing the institutions through which to conduct such operations, while it did not significantly increase European Strategic Autonomy regarding the capabilities of its defence industry. The study’s conclusion holds some important policy implications. These include the need for the capabilities of the Dutch land forces to be considerably boosted in order to match NATO capability targets and spread burden and risk sharing more evenly throughout Europe and the transatlantic alliance. Furthermore, the findings make clear that a proper policy strategy and planning is crucial, as boosting individual variables of our model can actually harm the progress on other variables, which is the case with the Dutch government in which quick investments in capability autonomy damage development in industrial autonomy. Lastly, the study reviews that while changes in the variable political autonomy may occur rapidly, investments in institutional autonomy, capability autonomy and industrial autonomy requires proper planning and investment, which in turn requires a long-term strategy. Future research should focus on one or two variables of our model at a time, in order to gain deeper knowledge on how to best improve the different variables of the Dutch contribution to European Strategic Autonomy.Show less

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The Dutch contribution to European Strategic Autonomy: Not throwing away their old shoes before they get new ones