'Solana Milieu' : Framing Security Policy

The aim of this article is to contribute to a better understanding of the process of security policy production at the Brussels level. Two points are made. First, it is shown that in order to grasp the logic of policy outcomes it is crucial to analyse the major actors in the field, the patterns of the interaction they forge and the notions that inform their political action. I single out an entity, which I call the Solana milieu, and illustrate how this environment has become a significant policy entrepreneur in the realm of EU's security policy. I propose that a dynamic approach to frame analysis is useful to unravel the modus operandi of this ambience. In particular, it offers a way beyond the oft-repeated criticism of policy incoherence whose elimination would allegedly bring a remedy to the under-performance in the EU's security policy. It argues instead that policy controversies are inevitable due to the institutional identities that are at play. Secondly, the investigation into one security-making field illustrates the inherent politicisation of the process, which nuances the argument about the inevitable shift away from 'normal politics' when security questions arise.