Overcoming the community dilemma: defence integration in a post-heroic European Union

Helferich, JNT

Oxford Thesis Collection

Thesis

Overcoming the community dilemma: defence integration in a post-heroic European Union

Abstract:: Why have European leaders repeatedly advocated for an EU defence capacity, yet so often fallen short of their stated ambitions? And what role does the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) play alongside NATO, given their overlapping membership and functions? Existing explanations of CSDP integration struggle to systematically theorise the conditions under which integration occurs – and to account for the persistent gap between political commitments and institutional implementation.

To address this issue, this thesis examines three defining periods of CSDP integration (1999, 2004, and 2016), drawing on newly available archival material and elite interviews. It argues that CSDP integration has been primarily driven by internal imperatives, particularly the need to sustain the European community during ontological crises – periods of profound self-identity disruption. Such crises confront core EU states with a community dilemma: in order to maintain a sense of progress and safeguard a community integral to their self-identity, leaders are compelled to engage in rapid institution-building. Yet, fearing dissensus, they pursue this in an ad hoc and deliberately ambiguous manner ultimately producing institutional outcomes that lack strategic effectiveness.

This social-psychological reading contrasts with strategic and power-maximising accounts by drawing attention to the performative and community-oriented character of CSDP integration. The explanatory framework sheds light on the EU’s ongoing struggle to reconcile its community ethos with the realities of power politics. For decades, EU defence policy embodied a 'post-heroic' mindset rooted in the assumption of a peaceful international order and the belief that interdependence and exchange, rather than deterrence and sacrifice, ensured stability. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has upended this model, exposing the limits of an approach shaped by ontological needs rather than strategic adaptation. Yet institutional responses remain fragmented, highlighting the enduring tension between identity preservation and strategic adjustment in European defence cooperation.

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APA Style

Helferich, J. N. T. (2025). Overcoming the community dilemma: defence integration in a post-heroic European Union [PhD thesis]. University of Oxford.

MLA Style

Helferich, JNT. Overcoming the Community Dilemma: Defence Integration in a Post-Heroic European Union. 2025. University of Oxford, PhD thesis.

Chicago Style

Helferich, JNT. 2025. “Overcoming the Community Dilemma: Defence Integration in a Post-Heroic European Union.” PhD thesis, University of Oxford.
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