Cohort: POLS 41

Topic of the thesis: Atlanticism and Europeanism in the context of PESCO: a real dichotomy?

Abstract: The EU debate on defence and security has often focused on the contrast between Atlanticists and Europeanists. On one side, there are countries that are highly sensitive to the US's interests in Europe when it comes to discussing more EU autonomy in defence and security. On the other hand, one can find countries that prefer a more strategically autonomous Europe. The current geopolitical climate, with the re-election of Donald Trump, only makes this contrast more apparent. The existing literature on this topic is often repetitive and treats this dichotomy as a black box, thus assuming countries will always behave in accordance with their categorization as "Atlanticist" or "Europeanist". To address this gap, this project will consider PESCO as a case study and will take inspiration from a puzzle, according to which countries that are traditionally thought to be reluctant to move the EU defence and security integration process forward take a leading role in advancing many of these projects. Thus, the project aims at operationalizing this dichotomy, with the objective of shedding light on how EU members consider their allegiance towards Washington when developing new military capabilities, and the effects of this on the emergence of a strategically autonomous EU. By doing this, this study will also contribute to the literature on the balance of power in alliances and socialization at the EU level. On one hand, the Atlanticist-Europeanists dichotomy, and how countries perceive it, will shed light on how they perceive the influence exercised by their most important ally, that is, the US. On the other hand, the participation in PESCO projects by Atlanticist countries can show how socialization works at the EU level; PESCO has rarely been considered as a case study in this literature, and this is the original contribution of this work.

Research interests:  European Defence and Security, International Relations, Security Studies, Military Affairs, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies, Political Science, Qualitative Research Methods

Graduated from: BA: University of Milan; MA: LSE (London School of Economics and Political Science)

Degrees obtained: BSc: International Politics, Law and Economics (IPLE); MSc: International Relations (Research)

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