The Future of the EU: Strategic Autonomy in Theory and Practice

Harvard HKS

Strategic autonomy has become a key reference in debates about the EU’s external action, far beyond the defense domain. This course proposes to situate this concept within broader discussions about EU grand strategy, including tensions between visions of a more geopolitical EU and approaches advocating a broader “planetary grand strategy.” It presents the origins of the term in the national political discourse of major member states, as well as its rapid ascent to prominence in the EU…