Comparing the US National Security Strategy and the European Security Strategy in the first decade of the 21st century: converging but still different
ABSTRACT: This study compares the US and EU security strategies of the first decade of the 21st century. Our paper focuses on whether the security strategies of both entities are converging or diverging. We argue that the literature has so far failed to compare US and EU security strategies across time, a gap that we seek to close. The paper applies a qualitative-explorative design. Our empirical (discourse and content) analysis is conducted with the data analysis software Atlas.ti. The main finding of our paper is that the US and EU security strategies are very similar in terms of overall objectives, values and declared threats. When it comes to approaching these threats, one still notices substantial differences. Overall, we conclude that the two security strategies have been converging over time.
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© Julia Klohs and Arne Niemann