Forging Unity: Cracking the Enigma of EU Strategic Culture through Operational-Level Insights
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2023-06-23
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en
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Abstract
Russia's aggression against Ukraine and other geopolitical shifts have posed significant challenges to
the European Union (EU) in defending its global interests. Strengthening the EU's military apparatus is
crucial for this. However, the EU currently lacks a coherent strategic culture, undermining its credibility
and effectiveness in security and defence. This study examines the absence of a coherent EU
strategic culture and proposes pathways for convergence. Through a comprehensive research
approach, including a literature review and a single case study, the study highlights the neglect of the
operational-level and the prevalence of an elitist perspective in strategic culture literature. To address
this gap, the study introduces the Organizational Process Model as supplementary to the strategic
culture literature, emphasizing the operational-level and providing a more comprehensive explanation
for the lack of coherence. Applying the theory to empirical data, including the EU's Strategic Compass
and Defence White Papers of selected member states (Netherlands, Finland, and Germany), uncovers
commonalities and disparities in critical areas for strategic culture convergence, such as 'Threat
Identification' and 'Defence Cooperation'. Identified commonalities can foster a coherent EU strategic
culture, while disparities can hinder such convergence. Recognizing and addressing the operational
level and thus rectifying the excessive emphasis on the elite-level are essential steps towards
converging the different strategic cultures of the EU member states into a coherent EU strategic
culture. This necessitates the involvement of lower-level bureaucracies in the development process of
EU strategic documents to enhance coherence and achieve the ultimate goal of a unified EU strategic
culture.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen