#FromtheIvoryTower | Despite shared maritime security interests, has India-EU cooperation in this sector remained elusive? A recent study published in the European Journal of International Security (@EJIntSec) argues that sustained EU–India engagement in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) has not produced deeper cooperation in maritime security. To compare the EU's & India's preferred methods of engagement, the study titled ‘Institutional choice and the limits of security governance: EU–India maritime cooperation in the Western Indian Ocean’, by Philipp Gieg (@PhilippGieg) and Abhishek Mishra (@Mishraesque), examined governmental arrangements and ad hoc coalitions, drawing on practitioner interviews, policy documents, official statements, datasets and secondary sources. They found that the EU’s preferred starting point is formal institutions that align with its emphasis on legal authority, legitimacy, and established rules. But due to high transaction costs, limited flexibility and reduced visibility, it also focuses on informal arrangements like the Critical Maritime Routes Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO) or the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) programme. Meanwhile, India has played a much larger role in creating and participating in informal arrangements that give it the scope to shape agendas and participation while keeping sovereignty costs low, found the study. Simply put, the EU tends to treat informality as a complement to a largely formal, legitimacy-oriented approach, while India relies more heavily on informal formats for flexibility, agenda-setting, and sovereignty preservation. The authors describe the resulting pattern as “functional coexistence without institutional consolidation.” You can read our full breakdown of the study here: indiasworld.in/institutional… Follow for more such updates. #maritimesecurity #maritimecooperation #IndiaEUpartnership #Indiamaritimesecurity #EuropeanUnion