Politics of failure in EU Civilian CSDP

After 20 years of deployments, EU civilian CSDP is marked by persistent contradictions between its crisis-oriented mandate and its institutionalized practices. Despite being designed as a flexible and temporary response mechanism, missions routinely exceed intended lifespans, a majority of them operating for over a decade without clearly defined end states or exit trajectories. The paper utilizes a policy failure-framework to understand the stasis in civilian CSDP, observing, that civilian CSDP’s instrumental logic has drifted over time. Originally conceived as a tool for delivering reform in fragile security settings, it now functions increasingly as a symbolic presence. Missions frequently continue in post-crisis political environments with reduced relevance, demonstrating a second, systemic failure, to align objectives with outcomes. Decision-making structures reinforce this inertia: unanimity requirements, filtered and delayed reporting, and weakly institutionalized strategic review practices ensure that for example closure remains the exception, not the norm. Politically, however, the policy retains sufficient support to endure. Missions serve national interests, provide diplomatic visibility, and allow the EU to project involvement without high operational risks. The policy endures through minimal consensus and modest utility, but it fails to meet its core strategic goals as a crisis management instrument. Rather than reforming toward agility and impact, civilian CSDP has evolved into a politically resilient structure that rewards continuity over closure. In this sense, it is both a functional tool of political signalling and a chronic underperformer in European crisis response.