The Ideas of a European Defence

Abstract

How and to what extent are different views on European defense cooperation determined by (in a wide sense) ideological positions, concepts and patterns of thought? For example, the notion of ‘a real, true European army’ would (obviously) seem to depend on a very traditional conception of what constitutes a relevant and functional military organization. However, what are the alternatives, and what logics and arguments are they based on? There is also the continuing story of a European “grand strategy. In the present context grand strategy may offer a useful entry point to a discussion on the wider patterns of signification that a working (legitimate) project for European defense cooperation will have to be matched.