Strategic autonomy in security and defence as an impracticability? How the European Union’s rhetoric meets reality

Abstract

This chapter investigates debates on European Strategic Autonomy (ESA), viewing ESA as the main response of the European Union and its members to the fragmentation of the Liberal International Order in security and defence. By tracing the evolution of EU and national approaches to three main strands of the debates (defence industry, crisis management, and relations with global powers), we argue that the lack of an EU-wide permissive consensus about the direction and applicability of ESA rendered this impracticable. A handful of EU actors believed this could be an effective answer but the majority of member states were less keen to breathe life into the idea: whereas lip service to a vague concept was acceptable, committing to its implementation was not.