Reconceptualising security of supply in European defence politics

The material-discursive conceptualisation of "Security of Supply" (SoS) is an important window into the development of European defence cooperation. Defence production policies are co-created and filtered through elite discourses that define acceptable dependence and reliability. Russia's 2022 invasion, economic de-risking and shared threat perceptions create an expectation of reconceptualisation of SoS and perhaps the production of greater shared understanding of SoS amidst European Union Member States (EU MS). We, therefore, ask how EU MS elites conceptualise SoS, and whether 2022 has led to a reconceptualisation and convergence? Drawing on parliamentary debates, media statements, interviews and survey data, we map an empirical SoS taxonomy of nine frames across three conceptualisations: economic instrumentality, vulnerability and autonomy and shared assurance. We show that the post-2022 shock did not consolidate a shared understanding of SoS, but instead intensified competing strategic logics, including domestic control, industrial return and questionable reliance even upon partners. The article contributes to debates on European defence integration, strategic autonomy and defence political economy by showing that SoS conceptualisation may be best understood as a proxy concept at the intersection of military necessity, alliance concerns and industrial policy.