This project studies the reshaping of dominant defence and security representations in Europe in the post-Cold War era. It starts
with the observation that, since the end of the Cold War, security representations in Europe have been radically altered. Today,
security actors tend to see themselves as institutions able of conducting multinational “peace”, “stabilization” or
“crisis management” operations in distant countries.

Classical theories of international relations as well as European studies approaches have failed to adequately explain this
situation. In this project, we hypothesize that the security and defence representations that prevail in Europe can be explained by
mobilizing a sociological approach of international politics inspired by the work of Bourdieu and his notion of "field".
To do so, our analysis highlights the existence of a field composed of experts (civilian analysts, officers, diplomats or
politicians) and having the ability to produce a series of credible representations (“strategic doxa”) of what European defence and
security should be. We thus question the different ways in which these experts are involved in the production and reproduction of the
European institutional landscape of security. Empirically, the construction of these representations is approached through the
analysis of a sample of eight representative specialized journals dealing with security and defence issues. We consider these
journals to be essential places involved in the definition and redefinition of defence and security.