Europe has lost both forms of statecraft that once underpinned its international influence: the tactical, chess‑like diplomacy and the patient, technical long‑term strategy. That absence explains why Europeans are being sidelined in attempts to resolve the Ukraine war and why EU foreign policy risks becoming reactive virtue signalling rather than capacity‑driven diplomacy.
— If the EU cannot produce a credible strategic plan (military logistics, financing, and post‑war governance), it will be excluded from shaping Europe’s security order and the continent’s long‑run geopolitical relevance will erode.
Noah Smith
2026.05.15
48% relevant
The piece contributes to the broader argument about European economic stagnation versus U.S. dynamism (citing the Krugman/Garicano/Sternberg debate), which feeds the narrative that Europe may lack economic strategy to sustain growth—though Smith's piece is more diagnostic than prescriptive.
Yascha Mounk
2026.05.09
82% relevant
Garton Ash frames Britain’s local results as part of a continental political realignment that weakens traditional parties and complicates coherent strategic responses (e.g., to the war in Ukraine); that critique maps to the existing idea that Europe lacks coherent strategic adaptation to new political challenges.
Dalibor Rohac
2026.05.04
85% relevant
Rohac argues Europe lacks the long-term institutions and intellectual leadership to adapt to diminished American reliability and must invest in defense and new political projects — a direct match to the diagnosis that Europe’s strategy and planning are insufficient.
Theodore Dalrymple
2026.04.24
78% relevant
The article's central claim — that Europe uniquely shaped modernity but now exhibits obvious (relative) decline — maps onto the 'strategy deficit' theme: it links cultural and institutional causes (religious‑secular distinctions, interstate rivalry, intellectual curiosity) to contemporary questions about Europe's geopolitical will and strategic capacity. The actor/reference here is Walter A. McDougall’s history as interpreted by the reviewer, who explicitly contrasts past outward‑looking vigour with present weakness.
Edward Luttwak
2026.04.03
90% relevant
The article diagnoses a gap in allied strategic responsibility and urges Europe to act militarily to secure a vital energy chokepoint; this maps directly onto the 'Europe’s Strategy Deficit' idea by arguing Europe must move from reliance on U.S. power to an independent operational role in the Gulf.
Ines Burrell
2026.03.26
85% relevant
The article argues Europe faces a strategic shortfall: it risks being sidelined or punished by the United States and targeted by Iran unless it takes independent action. That maps directly onto the existing idea that Europe lacks a coherent strategy to assert security agency — here evidenced by references to NATO strains under Trump, the danger of Iranian strikes (Diego Garcia), and the suggestion Europe must choose whether to act.
Wolfgang Munchau
2026.03.23
88% relevant
The article argues that Europe lacks strategic capacity and preparation (empty gas tanks, poor energy diversification, military dependence) and therefore is forced to absorb the costs of U.S. foreign policy shocks — a direct example of the 'strategy deficit' claim.
Wolfgang Munchau
2025.12.01
100% relevant
The article’s central claims — Trump advancing a peace plan with 'no Europeans in the room', Kaja Kallas criticised for empty rhetoric, and the contrast with Europe’s past technical projects like the single market — concretely illustrate the deficit.