Beyond The ESS Conceptualizing And Applying Strategy Analysis - The Example Of EU Security And Defense

This paper will develop an analytical approach to strategy and give first indications on the plausibility of this approach, drawing on the results of three case studies carried out in the area of EU security and defence. Despite many has been written on strategy and strategies, an analytical approach allowing for a more general account on strategy is still missing. It is argues that mainstream approaches to strategy focus on a primarily contextual definition of strategy and thus fall short of recognizing what strategies are, beyond a specific context.