Sociological Institutionalism, Socialisation and the Brusselisation of CSDP

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Abstract

This chapter introduces a theoretical framework based on sociological institutionalism and socialisation to analyse and explain the European Union’s (EU’s) Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and its predecessor, the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). It will use the notion of ‘Brusselisation’ to analyse the CSDP machinery, its institutions and its decision-making processes. The concepts discussed build on a constructivist approach in international relations (IR) theory and European Studies,1 and the chapter elaborates on how these concepts, which underline the importance of norms, values and identity in the complex decision-making process of CSDP, provide fruitful insights into the functioning of CSDP and its institutional set-up and dynamics. In doing so, the chapter also focuses on classical realist and rationalist approaches2, in reaction to which much of the scholarly work on sociological institutionalism emerged. Even though the facts that CSDP is intergovernmentally constructed and that the member states remain the main actors in this policy field are not contested, the chapter highlights the extent to which rationalist approaches are unable to capture the full dynamics of European integration in the area of security and defence policy.

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