Changing international environment and the new threat. A chance for European strategic culture?

Changing international environment and new threats. Opportunity for a European strategic culture? The international environment is going through a period of major upheaval. Terrorism, the growing influence of emerging powers and authoritarian regimes, and the weakening of multilateralism contribute to the gradual deterioration of the world order and simultaneously represent a serious challenge to Europe. In the aftermath of the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, the vulnerability of the European security architecture became especially apparent. This thesis aims to unfold how these changes were perceived and responded to by two major countries of the European Union: France and Germany. The main focus is on the perception of these changes, the security challenges and the relationship with Russia and its confrontational policy towards Europe and the surrounding areas. Furthermore, it deals with their perception of the changing foreign-policy priorities of the United States and the deepening of European cooperation in the field of security and defense policy. The analysis of the German and French discourse depicts their attitude and then compares their approach to the changing international landscape, thus answering the question of the compatibility of their respective strategic thinking