In March 2022 the first defenсe strategy of the European Union, the Strategic Compass was released. The strategy was in the making since 2020. It articulates current trends and concepts in the security and defenсe policy of the EU. Experts and scientists contributed significantly to the analytical support during its development, while the EU member states played a leading role. The study reveals the influence of scientific discourse on international relations, uses the method of discourse analysis to study the publications of think tanks associated with the European Union, which explored issues relevant to the Strategic Compass, including the problems of the Common Security and Defenсe Policy of the EU and the project of the strategic autonomy of the EU. The research demonstates that the scientific and expert community was not directly involved in the development of the document itself, but provided expertise for the Member States and EU institutions. It has had and continues to have a significant impact on identification of challenges and threats, which chape the identity of the EU as a transnational space by constructing narratives on the history and place of the Union in the world.

The article was prepared within the project "Post-crisis world order: challenges and technologies, competition and cooperation" supported by the grant from Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation program for research projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development (Agreement № 075-15-2020-783).