TY - JOUR

T1 - Upside Down

T2 - Reframing European Defence Studies

AU - Meijer, Hugo

AU - Wyss, Marco

N1 - The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Cooperation and Conflict, 54 (3), 2019, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2019 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Cooperation and Conflict page: http://journals.sagepub.com/home/cac on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/

PY - 2019/8/1

Y1 - 2019/8/1

N2 - Since the end of the Cold War, the study of European defence has been dominated by a 'Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)-centric' approach, while largely neglecting the comparative analysis of national defence policies. This article makes a conceptual and empirical case for turning the dominant research prism of European defence studies upside down by returning the analytical precedence to the national level. This approach privileges the comparative analysis of national defence policies and armed forces, before focusing on the trans-/supra-national level. The case for this analytical turn is made in three steps. Firstly, it addresses the different historical stages in European defence integration and the transformation of national armed forces and thereby brings to light the recent renationalization of defence in Europe. Secondly, it questions the predominance of the CSDP in the scholarly literature on European defence. Finally, it seeks to demonstrate the fruitfulness of such a demarche by empirically substantiating common patterns and intra-European divergences in the evolution of national defence policies and armed forces since the end of the Cold War. After having shown the need and added benefit of turning the analytical lense of European defence studies on its head, the conclusion suggests future avenues of research on national defence policies and armed forces in Europe.

AB - Since the end of the Cold War, the study of European defence has been dominated by a 'Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)-centric' approach, while largely neglecting the comparative analysis of national defence policies. This article makes a conceptual and empirical case for turning the dominant research prism of European defence studies upside down by returning the analytical precedence to the national level. This approach privileges the comparative analysis of national defence policies and armed forces, before focusing on the trans-/supra-national level. The case for this analytical turn is made in three steps. Firstly, it addresses the different historical stages in European defence integration and the transformation of national armed forces and thereby brings to light the recent renationalization of defence in Europe. Secondly, it questions the predominance of the CSDP in the scholarly literature on European defence. Finally, it seeks to demonstrate the fruitfulness of such a demarche by empirically substantiating common patterns and intra-European divergences in the evolution of national defence policies and armed forces since the end of the Cold War. After having shown the need and added benefit of turning the analytical lense of European defence studies on its head, the conclusion suggests future avenues of research on national defence policies and armed forces in Europe.

KW - Armed forces

KW - Common Security and Defence Policy

KW - defence policy

KW - European defence

U2 - 10.1177/0010836718790606

DO - 10.1177/0010836718790606

M3 - Journal article

VL - 54

SP - 378

EP - 406

JO - Cooperation and Conflict

JF - Cooperation and Conflict

SN - 0010-8367

IS - 3

ER -