Impact of Ukraine War on European Strategic Autonomy

Abstract

The concept of a single entity in the name of ‘International Society’ is nothing but anarchy from the point of view of many analysts. Against this notion, nation-states would implement various strategies to achieve their national interests intact. Alliances have been made in many instances in the world to promote and achieve security interests and economic cooperation. The European Union (EU) is one such organization in Europe established to secure economic and political cooperation among its member countries of Europe. Many European states also joined North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to achieve collective security together with the United States of America (USA). However, the most recent developments in international politics indicate that the EU has been drifting towards some degree of autonomy from the USA by entertaining a new concept known as ‘European Strategic Autonomy’ where Europe would be able to work together militarily without the assistance of the USA. The recent nationalist political wave moving across Europe, including ‘Brexit’ which was the movement in the United Kingdom (UK) that exited Britain from the EU, centered around the idea of political and economic autonomy. Furthermore, the controversial tri-party military alliance known as the AUKUS formulated between the USA, UK, and Australia, pushed the European state France to rely upon strategic autonomy. The ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia has however questioned the prudence of a full strategic autonomy between European countries. This research focused on the impact of the Ukraine War on the concept of European Strategic Autonomy. The research problem is whether the Ukraine war has worked against the idea of European Strategic Autonomy. Based on a qualitative method, the research used existing literature for the analysis. Interpretive analysis based on the explanatory method was used to analyze existing literature. It was concluded that Ukraine war have impacted the idea of the strategic autonomy among European nations negatively, and it has raised new challenges to the EU.