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ARTICLE

European Strategic Autonomy in the Age of US-China Competition
The three images of EU strategic autonomy: perspectives on wedging, binding and hedging
Daniel Fiott Published online: 13 Sep 2025

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07036337.2025.2537369#abstract

SUMMARY of ARTICLE

MISTRAL.ai; 26-09-2025

= Three Models for Improving
                    European Union Strategic Autonomy =

1. Responsibility

Approach:
·  Enhances security and defense without questioning US predominance.
·  Works within the framework of NATO and maintains strong transatlantic ties.
·  Recognizes the need to invest in critical technology domains but does not aim to replace the preeminent position of the US.

Practical Consequences:
·  Increases defense investments and capability acquisition in the context of NATO and/or the EU.
·  Invests in American-made equipment and systems.
·  Enhances innovation potential in critical technology domains.
·  Maintains strong cultural and ideological underpinnings to the transatlantic relationship.
·  Continues to rely on the US for its ultimate security guarantee.

2. Hedging

Approach:
·  Increases efforts in security, defense, and technological innovation.
·  Aims to avoid dependence on the US or China.
·  Recognizes the need to enhance defense capabilities and invest in technological innovation and industrial capacity.
·  Seeks to maintain healthy economic relations with both the US and China.
Practical Consequences:
·  Enhances conventional military power to respond to potential threats from Russia.
·  Invests in technological innovation and industrial capacity to avoid becoming dependent on the American or Chinese economies.
·  Seeks to maintain a balance between its economic relations with the US and China.
·  Aims to protect supply chains and maintain political capital to resist being entirely enveloped by American commercial and political interests.
·  Faces challenges in maintaining political unity and avoiding a situation where it is forced to choose between the US and China.

3. Independence

Approach:
·  Seeks to choose its partnerships and pursue its interests independently of the US and China.
·  Aims to achieve the highest possible form of autonomy in economic, political, and security terms.
·  Views strategic autonomy as an indivisible concept.
·  Emphasizes its own normative objectives and political independence.

Practical Consequences:
·  Aims to achieve autonomy in key technological and industrial domains.
·  Seeks to avoid a vassal-like position under any possible future China-dominated world order.
·  Faces challenges due to its lack of resources and natural resources compared to the US and China.
·  May struggle to achieve complete independence in certain economic sectors due to demographic and material realities.

Why Hedging is the Preferred Approach

1.    Balanced Approach: Hedging allows the EU to maintain a balance between its economic relations with the US and China, avoiding over-dependence on either.

2.    Flexibility: Hedging provides the EU with the flexibility to respond to changing geopolitical circumstances and the actions of great powers.

3.    Risk Mitigation: Hedging serves as an insurance policy against any sudden shocks or a long-term decline in US power.

4.    Political Unity: Hedging encourages the EU to maintain political unity and internal binding, which is crucial for enhancing its autonomy.

5.    Resistance to External Influence: Hedging allows the EU to resist external wedging and binding strategies by both the US and China.

6.    Economic Interests: Hedging helps the EU protect its economic interests and avoid becoming dependent on the American or Chinese economies.

7.    Security: Hedging allows the EU to enhance its defense capabilities and invest in technological innovation and industrial capacity to ensure its security.

Hedging is often seen as the preferred approach because it offers a balanced and flexible strategy that allows the EU to maintain its political unity, protect its economic interests, and enhance its security capabilities without over-relying on either the US or China. This approach helps the EU navigate the complexities of great power competition while maintaining its strategic autonomy.