The transformation of EU and NATO security narratives: towards resilience and total defence?

Amid multiplying crises at the global level, the dominant narratives of the European Union and NATO have come under strain. Drawing on narrative approaches, we argue that the EU's previous dominant narrative of peace has been replaced by one of resilience. For NATO, resilience has worked to nuance t...

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Published in:International Affairs Vol. 102; no. 4; pp. 1119 - 1138
Main Authors: Bargués, Pol, Joseph, Jonathan, Juncos, Ana E
Format: Article
Published: Oxford University Press / USA Jul2026
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jul2026
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      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
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        10.1093/ia/iiag050
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          Bargués, Pol
          Joseph, Jonathan
          Juncos, Ana E
        affil:
          Fundació CIDOB, Elisabets 12, Barcelona 08001, Spain
          School of Sociology, Politics & International Studies, University of Bristol, 11 Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TU
      su:
        European Union
        North Atlantic Treaty Organization
        International security
        Military readiness
        Psychological resilience
        Security management
      sug:
        subj:
          International security
          Military readiness
          European Union
          North Atlantic Treaty Organization
          Psychological resilience
          Security management
      keyword:
        copyrightHolder:The Royal Institute of International Affairs
        copyrightYear:2026
        inLanguage:en
        narrative
        NATO
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        resilience
        sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiag050
        security
        copyrightHolder:The Royal Institute of International Affairs
        copyrightYear:2026
        inLanguage:en
        narrative
        NATO
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        resilience
        sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiag050
        security
      ab: Amid multiplying crises at the global level, the dominant narratives of the European Union and NATO have come under strain. Drawing on narrative approaches, we argue that the EU's previous dominant narrative of peace has been replaced by one of resilience. For NATO, resilience has worked to nuance the past dominant narratives of a military defence alliance and liberal security community. These narrative shifts have been catalysed by external shocks and the role of narrative entrepreneurs. This article finds evidence of increasing narrative convergence between the two main providers of European security. In a context of a deteriorating security environment, there has been a shift in the meaning of resilience from a transformational process (resilience as 'the ability to reform') towards a more inward-looking and defensive notion. Increasingly, a narrative supporting the goal of total defence through the strengthening of societal resilience is emerging within the EU and NATO.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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