The trajectory of the European security order raises two important questions about the EU as a foreign policy actor: what factors have shaped the EU’s foreign policy identity and role?
Has NATO’s adaptation to the new security context constrained or enhanced the EU’s role and identity as an autonomous security actor?
The first question is addressed by reference to role theory, particularly the patterns of convergence and divergence between the institutionally self-ascribed and nationally ascribed role conceptions of the EU. The second question is answered against the background of the NATO and EU responses to the Libyan crisis.