New Publication by Philipp Gieg in the European Journal of International Security: Institutional Choice and the Limits of Security Governance
09/14/2026Why do the EU and India opt for different institutional forms of cooperation on maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean despite facing shared challenges? Dr. Philipp Gieg (IPS Würzburg) and Dr. Abhishek Mishra (IDSA New Delhi) explore this question in their article "Institutional choice and the limits of security governance: EU–India maritime cooperation in the Western Indian Ocean", just published in the European Journal of International Security.
The article was published as an open-access contribution and is freely available: https://doi.org/10.1017/eis.2026.10071
Abstract
Maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) has become a shared concern for the European Union (EU) and India, yet sustained co-presence and overlapping security challenges have not translated into deeper institutional convergence. Drawing on institutional choice theory, this article examines how and why the EU and India select different institutional formats for multilateral maritime security cooperation. Employing an analytical framework that distinguishes between formal intergovernmental organisations, informal intergovernmental organisations, trans-governmental networks, and ad hoc coalitions, the study combines semi-structured interviews with EU and Indian officials and document analysis. The findings show that while both actors operate across the formal–informal spectrum, their institutional choices are shaped by distinct cost sensitivities and strategic priorities: the EU remains anchored in treaty-based multilateralism while pragmatically complementing it with informal mechanisms, whereas India relies more heavily on initiator-driven and sovereignty-preserving informal arrangements. These patterns help explain why institutional choices in the WIO have produced parallel institutional pathways rather than convergence, with implications for debates on institutional choice, informal governance, and the constraints on multilateral security cooperation.
Gieg, Philipp & Mishra, Abhishek (2026). Institutional choice and the limits of security governance: EU–India maritime cooperation in the Western Indian Ocean. European Journal of International Security (online first). https://doi.org/10.1017/eis.2026.10071.
