Europe, Strategy and Armed Forces

In the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), the EU has acquired an operational military dimension, which has two objectives: equipping the EU with the institutions and procedures to plan for, decide on and implement military (and civilian) operations abroad; and enhancing the quality and qua [...]
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In the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), the EU has acquired an operational military dimension, which has two objectives: equipping the EU with the institutions and procedures to plan for, decide on and implement military (and civilian) operations abroad; and enhancing the quality and quantity of deployable military capabilities at the disposal of the EU. Great progress has been achieved on the institutional side, but the capabilities side is lagging behind as the bottom-up nature of the capability-building process has made for slow progress.This book assesses: how the bottom-up nature of the capability dimension of the ESDP and the resulting persisting national focus of EU Member States (each striving for full capacity at the national level) impede the generation of deployable capabilities for the EU (and therefore for NATO as well); whether a reorientation towards capacity at the aggregate EU-level and the introduction of top-down coordination is achievable; and, how such reorientation, via pooling of national assets into multinational frameworks and reduction of intra-EU duplication, could generate more deployable capabilities within the existing and expected budgetary context.This book adds flesh to the bone structure of the idea of far-reaching military integration by elaborating a possible size and composition of a 'European army' and assessing in more detail how it can be achieved. It then puts that firmly in the context of conceptual thinking about the nature of the EU as an international actor. This book will be of interest to students of military studies, European Politics and Strategic Studies.