In the 2016 EU Global Strategy, High Representative/Vice-President Mogherini called for a “stronger Europe” in response to the continuous string of crises and challenges the EU faced in the past...Show moreIn the 2016 EU Global Strategy, High Representative/Vice-President Mogherini called for a “stronger Europe” in response to the continuous string of crises and challenges the EU faced in the past decade. Since the institutionalization of Common Foreign and Security Policy, and Common Security and Defence Policy and with the gradual emergence of the EU as a foreign policy actor, scholars have tried to craft appropriate concepts, frameworks and approaches which would allow them to define and study the EU’s characteristics, role and ability in the realm of external action. Strategic culture is one of these concepts which tries to answer core questions about what influences and drives strategic behaviour in foreign policy, like a “compass” which can help an actor navigate and pursue its strategic priorities. In an effort to contribute to the under-researched body of literature on this concept, this paper studies the development of EU strategic culture by comparing the 2003 European Security Strategy with the 2016 Global Strategy. These documents codify strategic culture by providing written accounts of the EU’s shared values, interests and the means it defines as appropriate to pursue these interests. The findings confirm that an EU strategic culture has developed between 2003 and 2016, notably by defining a set of shared values and interests for the first time, through its ability to identify and update its threat assessments based on recent changes in its environment, as well as thanks to a range of concrete tool-building proposals guided by these norms and interests, notably in the field of military capabilities.Show less
Due to the increasing security issues recently developed in and outside the EU a common transnational answer to these issues is needed. In June 2016 an answer was provided in the form of the...Show moreDue to the increasing security issues recently developed in and outside the EU a common transnational answer to these issues is needed. In June 2016 an answer was provided in the form of the European Global Strategy but is this the real answer for European collaboration in security? Is any real common EU strategy even possible without a common strategic culture that provides the context wherein policy choices are made? This thesis topic has relevance within the scientific debate around the possibility of an EU that serves as a security provider, particularly in the current era characterized by (home grown) terrorism, destabilized neighbouring regions and rising populism. This thesis researches the evaluation (if any) of a European strategic culture by the analysis of the main strategic EU documents, namely the European Security Strategy (ESS), the European Global Strategy (EUGS) and its related key policy documents. These documents lay out the plans for EU security and defence collaboration but do they incite the formation of a strategic culture? The presented strategic documents are researched and compared using document analysis on the basis of Biava, Herd and Drent’s provided Strategic Culture analytical framework. This document analysis will help to place the conducted expert interviews (n=9) that sketch the drafting process of the ESS and EUGS in perspective. These interviews are conducted with in particular Dutch experts in the field divided through two main branches: Policy Making (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, EU) and Think Thank.Show less
