Culture shock: The EU’s foreign and security policy and the challenges of the European Zeitenwende

Abstract

The EU is in a state of culture shock. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the European Zeitenwende placed the EU in a largely unfamiliar international environment for which its past modes of operation and behavioural patterns are unsuited. The EU was able to geopolitically repurpose its existing processes and instruments to cope rather effectively with the challenges of the war and its global fallout. However, the EU is also faced with more fundamental questions related to how it will navigate a much more competitive international environment. For effective and sustainable answers, it will need to develop a joint strategic culture.