Crafting EU Security Policy: In Pursuit of a European Identity – By S.B. Anderson

Abstract

In the absence of external security threats—and especially given that most of the EU member states are also members of NATO—what explains the European Union's commitment to a distinct, common security policy? What justifies channeling funds from cash-strapped European governments to finance that policy? Ranging from the early post -Cold War years to the present, Stephanie Anderson explores the arguably surprising motivation behind the EU's security and defense policy, how the ESDP has developed, how it has transformed the EU, and how it might further the European integration project.