European Union Security Dynamics: In the New National Interest

This book is the first analysis of recent French-British leadership in the security and defence policy of the EU. The French return to NATO while the British take a lead in the ESDP. Why? The reasons are the new national interests that emerge when European states pay less for defence and fail to modernise, while the United States calls for more effort in order to have allies that can contribute to the demanding wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Africa. The need for multilateral military burden-sharing has never been clearer: no state can deploy without the political support of others, and governments need to share blame and risk. The new national interests also imply that France, Britain, and the United States share an interest in the ESDP.