Strategic culture in the European Union. The significance of the European Security Strategy of 2003

Essay from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: 8,2, Leiden University, language: English, abstract: The essay deals with the question whether the EU has established a strategic culture regarding its foreign and security policy. It begins with a discussion of the concept of strategic culture, to then dive into the sources of strategic culture and the extent to which the member states of the EU have similarities within those sources, namely geography and history, and political structure and institutions. Afterwards, the European Security Strategy of 2003 is considered as a potential manifestation of EU strategic culture, followed by developments after 2008. The essay concludes that the EU is growing closer to having a common strategic culture, but that it has not happened yet. Due to significant changes with regard to the security situation after the end of the Cold War, caused by conflicts in former Yugoslavia, the attacks on September 11, 2001, and the differences regarding the Iraq war for instance, the necessity for a coordinated European foreign and security policy became evident. Therefore, on December 12, 2003, the European Council agreed to the European Security Strategy (ESS), whose development was seen as an important step in defining common interests and goals of the EU regarding foreign and security policy.