European Strategic Autonomy (ESA) has become one of the key concepts in the European security debate. Its essential meaning is that European states need to collectively ensure their autonomy to act independently of external parties in the wake of unfolding geopolitical shifts, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, given the complex nature of cooperation in Europe, Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU) have different understandings of how ESA should be pursued. This divergence has led to an elusiveness of the concept, both in the World of policy and academia, which is problematic as it has hindered cooperative developments. This thesis systematically investigates how two Member States in the EU, Finland and Sweden, understand ESA. Given ESA’s lack of theorisation, an ‘ESA model’ has been developed that has helped measure the two cases’ respective understandings. ESA has traditionally been limited to the policy area of defence, however, in line with the current broader understanding of ESA, this thesis also considers energy and economy. In doing so, this thesis gives a more nuanced picture of the two countries respective ESA understandings. The findings show that both Finland and Sweden are strongly in favour of ESA measures for energy, Russia’s energy leverage over the EU being the main explanation. Both countries are also in favour of ESA measures for economy, to avoid being vulnerable to China’s growing assertiveness; however, unlike energy and Russia, both Finland and Sweden also emphasise the importance of maintaining trade with China that is beneficial for companies in the respective countries. Both countries are more circumspect towards ESA measures for defence. This is especially the case for Sweden which strongly emphasises the importance of a robust defence relationship with the United States.

Following the publication of the European Union Global Strategy in 2016 where the EU officially announced its quest for European Strategic Autonomy (ESA), a policy initiative toenable EU’s capacity to act autonomously in the realm of security and defence, this study poses the following research question: What type of foreign policy behaviour does the EU exhibit in security and defence through its quest for strategic autonomy? Broadly based in realism, the study is designed as a single case-study of EU foreign policy behaviour in relation to Russia and analyses whether the pursuit of ESA entails a balancing or hedging EU foreign policy behaviour. By doing so, the study contributes theoretically, by disentangling and operationalising these two concepts analytically, and empirically, by applying them to an EU context and investigating their presence. The results show that the EU does not exhibit a hedging behaviour towards Russia, and whether the EU exhibits a balancing behaviour remains inconclusive as the empirical material provided insufficient evidence to conclude so.

The thesis explores the use of the term European Strategic Autonomy in the Common Security and Defence Policy (CFSP) of the European Union. The security environment around Europe has become increasingly unstable in the last 15 years. The EU Commission has tried to take account of the deteriorating geopolitical landscape by publishing an EU Global Strategy document in 2016 to share its vision for a stronger Europe. The document calls for strategic autonomy without properly defining it. Since then, many policy papers have captured the term and used it as a popular buzzword. Because it has not been properly defined on the political level, European Strategy Autonomy (ESA) was subject to speculations and national interpretations which did not help to advance the debate. Based on an extensive literature review the paper provides a comprehensive understanding by giving an historic overview and presenting different configurations of ESA in the contemporary context. A comparative case study, including France, Germany, and the Czech Republic has been conducted to assess their interpretation of the notion. The result of the case studies showed inherently different perceptions underlaid by different motivations and identifies the political layer to be the biggest challenge for moving forward with the topic....

This research focuses on the concept of European strategic autonomy and what it really is. Through two different European Union Member States, France and Germany, the research will compare how European strategic autonomy is interpreted and why. The research will use different concepts from the theory of realism to focus on the conventional perspective of strategic autonomy in Europe. The research will show how France pushes for greater European strategic autonomy to secure the future of Europe through strategic hedging strategy when again Germany wants to strengthen European strategic autonomy to be taken more seriously by European external allies and by strengthening European bandwagoning strategy. Based on the previously mentioned, the research will analyze how France and Germany interpret the meaning of European strategic autonomy. The research suggests that France’s approach to European security is through Europeanism when Germany’s approach is through Atlanticism. The research will conclude with findings that the significance of European strategic autonomy is in its meaning of increasing Europe’s and European Union’s credibility, sovereignty, and European integration, to name a few.

The debate regarding how Europe may assert its autonomy as a political actor is crucial. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is one of the most relevant topics for European Union politics. This thesis will focus on the strategic conditions within the security and defence sector needed to assert Strategic Autonomy from the perspective of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency and leadership. Over the years the EU has implemented new institutional structures, such as the European Defence Fund, the European Intervention Initiative, and the Strategic Compass, correlating with Macron’s goals of implementing a strategic culture doctrine within the EU. Despite the progress of the European Strategic Autonomy concept there still is a major disagreement amongst the EU member states. Some members prefer a transatlantic partnership, some focus on internal development within the European Union. Using the theories of Liberal institutionalism and the principle of coherence, the purpose of this thesis is to explore and understand more about the dynamics of the conditions that could hypothetically facilitate the strategic autonomy of the European Union’s defence capabilities. The study reveals that the conditions required is based of the French national strategy of strategic autonomy,which involves a shared political, operational and industrial goal. / <p>En välskriven och innehållsrik uppsats som använder både analytiska begrepp och teori på ett konsekvent sätt. Metodavsnittet saknar en beskrivning av datainsamlingsmetod och användning av material. Uppsatsen har en oklar disposition vilket gör den svårläst i vissa delar.</p><p></p><p>- Kommentar från examinator Örnerheim</p>