Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

The European Single Market (SM) has typically been a symbol of economic integration and multilateralism within the European Union (EU). It operates within a robust regulatory framework aimed at ensuring the free movement of goods, services, people, and capital. However, with the steady onslaught of crises seen in the union in recent years, the SM governance appears to be changing by giving privilege to the safeguarding of strategic interests and ensuring stability. Similar changes have been noted in other sectors, where it has been dubbed a crisisification of policy-making in the EU. This is expressed by the agenda-setting, decision-making, participation, and legitimising narratives of ordinary governance becoming similar to those employed during crises.

The thesis seeks to understand the changing governance of the SM by using the theoretical framework of crisisification. The framework is adapted by considering elements of time, active secrecy, and Council coordination dynamics. Crisisification shows that changes to SM governance challenges democratic processes and community building. Insights from critical security studies also contributes to assessing the implications on policy-makers, citizens, and democracy of crisisification. The study explores these goals through semi-structured interviews and reflexive thematic analysis with civil servants from the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the European Commission, and the Swedish National Board of Trade. Findings revealed the multifaceted impacts of crisisification on privileging sectors deemed vulnerable or threatened over others and changing interinstitutional power dynamics resulting in challenges towards democratic values. The study underscores the need for further exploration into the effects of crisisification through systematic review across European policy sectors.