The global politics of EU security &
defence
Inhoudsopgave
Class 1: History and the contested meaning of European strategy in a changing world ..................... 1
What (if anything) changed in global politics since the end of the Cold War? And what (if) anything
continued? ......................................................................................................................................1
Thinking conceptually about European strategy .................................................................................3
Class 2: Theorising EU Security and Defence ................................................................................10
How to start thinking about theorizing EU security and defence? ....................................................... 11
A realist view ................................................................................................................................. 13
A structural realist view .............................................................................................................. 13
Other structural realist views ...................................................................................................... 16
Criticisms and extensions .......................................................................................................... 16
Normative power: constructing the European Self ........................................................................... 19
Normative power: Strategies for constructing Self and Other ........................................................ 20
Normative power: constructing the European Self ....................................................................... 22
“Global IR” and Security and Defence ............................................................................................. 24
Why enacting economic sanctions?............................................................................................ 25
Class 3: The process of European strategy formation ....................................................................28
The new european security strategy ................................................................................................ 29
A new European security strategy? ............................................................................................. 29
What is “process” in FP/strategy formation? ..................................................................................... 31
EU’s foreign policy/strategy: Actors (KD 2022) .................................................................................. 32
Writing the new European security strategy: what lessons from the past? .......................................... 42
The difficult road to the 2016 EU Global Strategy (Tocci 2017a; 2017b) .......................................... 44
The new, 2026 European security strategy ................................................................................... 45
Class 4: The military and civilian dimension: EU common foreign and security policy .....................47
The process of EU foreign security and defense coordination ............................................................ 49
CFSP ............................................................................................................................................ 50
CFSP: origins and basis .............................................................................................................. 50
CFSP: commitment ................................................................................................................... 51
CFSP: strategic guidelines .......................................................................................................... 52
CFSP: priorities ......................................................................................................................... 53
The Libya crisis – CSFP failure? ................................................................................................... 54
Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) ................................................................................. 55
CSDP: nature ............................................................................................................................ 56
CSDP: military component ......................................................................................................... 58
PESCO (Biscop 2018) ................................................................................................................. 60
CSDP: civilian component.......................................................................................................... 62
CSDP missions .......................................................................................................................... 62
, CSDP: industrial and technological challenge ............................................................................. 65
Member state disagreement on how to cooperate in the defence-industry (Calcara and Simón 2025)
................................................................................................................................................. 68
Class 5: The technology dimension: EU technological sovereignty .................................................69
Where does technology rest in IR debates? ...................................................................................... 70
Much unclarity about modern technology’s impact on ir .............................................................. 70
Agency focus ............................................................................................................................. 71
Structure focus.......................................................................................................................... 72
(Some of) EU’s challenges re. Technology .................................................................................... 75
Defining technological sovereignty .................................................................................................. 79
EU technological sovereignty in EU policy debates ....................................................................... 79
The three images of EU strategic autonomy (Fiott 2025) ............................................................... 80
Technological underpinnings of European autonomy (Calcara et al. 2025) ......................................... 81
Europe as playground ................................................................................................................ 81
Class 6: Guest lecture: TRADE IN TURBULENT TIMES .....................................................................82
The EU RESPONSE: A European Economic Security Strategy ......................................................... 83
How we see economic security .................................................................................................. 83
Economic security strategy ........................................................................................................ 83
Economic security: a new approach ........................................................................................... 84
Let’s combine our tools .............................................................................................................. 84
The wider three pillars ................................................................................................................ 86
Looking ahead ............................................................................................................................... 88
Are we progressing? ................................................................................................................... 88
Class 7: EU-China relations ..........................................................................................................89
China rising, (re)rising, or risen? ...................................................................................................... 92
China’s rise and international order ............................................................................................ 96
Consequences of China’s rise .................................................................................................... 97
Implications for Europe .............................................................................................................. 98
How do European states navigate pressures from China and US? (Zaccagnini and Calcara 2025) ..... 102
Class 8: guest lecture: The impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine on the European neighbourhood and
the EU’s policies towards it ........................................................................................................ 104
The ENP/EaP premises ................................................................................................................. 105
The impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine ........................................................................................... 108
Russia’s war on Ukraine and implications for the EU ....................................................................... 109
Class 9: Guest lecture: EEAS; EU-NATO Strategic Partnership ...................................................... 113
Class 10: EU-US relations ........................................................................................................... 122
US reorientation away from Europe ............................................................................................... 127
Can Europe provide for its own security? ....................................................................................... 131
,Class 1: History and the contested meaning of European
strategy in a changing world
What (if anything) changed in global politics since the end of the Cold
War? And what (if) anything continued?
- If between brackets because maybe some things have changed
- Change of what is the first question
- Which means the object of study, like international affairs, eu security policy,
balance of power, …
- Or an other way to look at this is the way we study it -> first one is about the
object study and second one is about how do we think about this
- Is the change material? And/or ideational? -> if the environment around you
changes, has an effect on the behaviour
- Then if some things have changed, does it really revolutionze everything we know
about it? about how the world functions? Maybe the change is revolutionary in
technology but not really for the social or politicial
1
, - Change of empirical reality vs change of how we think about (and construct)
empirical reality
- Since end of cold war we have changes in the system -> reffers to material
changes, ideational changes, technological changes, invasions, … + these things
change all the time, like maybe every day + also changes in history + great
changes happens all the time
- Permissive: flexibel/convenient, environment means that it is not really
threateting, so you can deprioritze the military spending
- Restricitive environments: are more threatening and reduce your options of
policy you can choose, because you have to increase defence spending
- Changes of the system: are changes of how w think, of how it operates, more like
an knowledge question
- Sometimes called foundational aspects of theories of security and defence
- On one hand we see changes in the real world, but there is also a correlation
about how we think about security and defence
2
defence
Inhoudsopgave
Class 1: History and the contested meaning of European strategy in a changing world ..................... 1
What (if anything) changed in global politics since the end of the Cold War? And what (if) anything
continued? ......................................................................................................................................1
Thinking conceptually about European strategy .................................................................................3
Class 2: Theorising EU Security and Defence ................................................................................10
How to start thinking about theorizing EU security and defence? ....................................................... 11
A realist view ................................................................................................................................. 13
A structural realist view .............................................................................................................. 13
Other structural realist views ...................................................................................................... 16
Criticisms and extensions .......................................................................................................... 16
Normative power: constructing the European Self ........................................................................... 19
Normative power: Strategies for constructing Self and Other ........................................................ 20
Normative power: constructing the European Self ....................................................................... 22
“Global IR” and Security and Defence ............................................................................................. 24
Why enacting economic sanctions?............................................................................................ 25
Class 3: The process of European strategy formation ....................................................................28
The new european security strategy ................................................................................................ 29
A new European security strategy? ............................................................................................. 29
What is “process” in FP/strategy formation? ..................................................................................... 31
EU’s foreign policy/strategy: Actors (KD 2022) .................................................................................. 32
Writing the new European security strategy: what lessons from the past? .......................................... 42
The difficult road to the 2016 EU Global Strategy (Tocci 2017a; 2017b) .......................................... 44
The new, 2026 European security strategy ................................................................................... 45
Class 4: The military and civilian dimension: EU common foreign and security policy .....................47
The process of EU foreign security and defense coordination ............................................................ 49
CFSP ............................................................................................................................................ 50
CFSP: origins and basis .............................................................................................................. 50
CFSP: commitment ................................................................................................................... 51
CFSP: strategic guidelines .......................................................................................................... 52
CFSP: priorities ......................................................................................................................... 53
The Libya crisis – CSFP failure? ................................................................................................... 54
Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) ................................................................................. 55
CSDP: nature ............................................................................................................................ 56
CSDP: military component ......................................................................................................... 58
PESCO (Biscop 2018) ................................................................................................................. 60
CSDP: civilian component.......................................................................................................... 62
CSDP missions .......................................................................................................................... 62
, CSDP: industrial and technological challenge ............................................................................. 65
Member state disagreement on how to cooperate in the defence-industry (Calcara and Simón 2025)
................................................................................................................................................. 68
Class 5: The technology dimension: EU technological sovereignty .................................................69
Where does technology rest in IR debates? ...................................................................................... 70
Much unclarity about modern technology’s impact on ir .............................................................. 70
Agency focus ............................................................................................................................. 71
Structure focus.......................................................................................................................... 72
(Some of) EU’s challenges re. Technology .................................................................................... 75
Defining technological sovereignty .................................................................................................. 79
EU technological sovereignty in EU policy debates ....................................................................... 79
The three images of EU strategic autonomy (Fiott 2025) ............................................................... 80
Technological underpinnings of European autonomy (Calcara et al. 2025) ......................................... 81
Europe as playground ................................................................................................................ 81
Class 6: Guest lecture: TRADE IN TURBULENT TIMES .....................................................................82
The EU RESPONSE: A European Economic Security Strategy ......................................................... 83
How we see economic security .................................................................................................. 83
Economic security strategy ........................................................................................................ 83
Economic security: a new approach ........................................................................................... 84
Let’s combine our tools .............................................................................................................. 84
The wider three pillars ................................................................................................................ 86
Looking ahead ............................................................................................................................... 88
Are we progressing? ................................................................................................................... 88
Class 7: EU-China relations ..........................................................................................................89
China rising, (re)rising, or risen? ...................................................................................................... 92
China’s rise and international order ............................................................................................ 96
Consequences of China’s rise .................................................................................................... 97
Implications for Europe .............................................................................................................. 98
How do European states navigate pressures from China and US? (Zaccagnini and Calcara 2025) ..... 102
Class 8: guest lecture: The impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine on the European neighbourhood and
the EU’s policies towards it ........................................................................................................ 104
The ENP/EaP premises ................................................................................................................. 105
The impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine ........................................................................................... 108
Russia’s war on Ukraine and implications for the EU ....................................................................... 109
Class 9: Guest lecture: EEAS; EU-NATO Strategic Partnership ...................................................... 113
Class 10: EU-US relations ........................................................................................................... 122
US reorientation away from Europe ............................................................................................... 127
Can Europe provide for its own security? ....................................................................................... 131
,Class 1: History and the contested meaning of European
strategy in a changing world
What (if anything) changed in global politics since the end of the Cold
War? And what (if) anything continued?
- If between brackets because maybe some things have changed
- Change of what is the first question
- Which means the object of study, like international affairs, eu security policy,
balance of power, …
- Or an other way to look at this is the way we study it -> first one is about the
object study and second one is about how do we think about this
- Is the change material? And/or ideational? -> if the environment around you
changes, has an effect on the behaviour
- Then if some things have changed, does it really revolutionze everything we know
about it? about how the world functions? Maybe the change is revolutionary in
technology but not really for the social or politicial
1
, - Change of empirical reality vs change of how we think about (and construct)
empirical reality
- Since end of cold war we have changes in the system -> reffers to material
changes, ideational changes, technological changes, invasions, … + these things
change all the time, like maybe every day + also changes in history + great
changes happens all the time
- Permissive: flexibel/convenient, environment means that it is not really
threateting, so you can deprioritze the military spending
- Restricitive environments: are more threatening and reduce your options of
policy you can choose, because you have to increase defence spending
- Changes of the system: are changes of how w think, of how it operates, more like
an knowledge question
- Sometimes called foundational aspects of theories of security and defence
- On one hand we see changes in the real world, but there is also a correlation
about how we think about security and defence
2
