Societal Security As a European Project – a Joint Venture of Citizens, Industry, and States?

The impact of European projects can be assessed when looking at the process of implementation of policies designed to produce a politically defined output.

The security work programme under FP7 provides a good example to analyse the dynamics of such a process. The overall objective of this programme was twofold: improve the competitiveness of the European security industry and increase the security of European citizens. The program resided with DG ENTR and spent almost 1.5 bn. € over a six year period. How the money was allocated, for which topics it was spent, who was involved in deciding about the allocation of funds, the type of security “products” to be developed – all this can be reconstructed from a performative perspective, i.e. by looking at specific sites, where these issues are negotiated and decided. Taking such a perspective allows for a data rich empirical analysis while at the same time the shortcomings of the policy approach chosen in this field can be demonstrated and critically examined against the background of a theory of democratic governance.