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European Security and Defense Policy Demystified

Nation-Building and Identity in the European Union

University of Wyoming redhead{at}uwyo.edu

Thomas R. Seitz

University of Wyoming tseitz{at}uwyo.edu

From a military standpoint, the European Union’s Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) defies logic. Why would the European allies seek to create a competing military force outside NATO when worried about American isolationism and when unable and unwilling to dedicate the necessary resources? This article suggests an alternative motive behind the European Union’s establishment of a defense program—the development and enhancement of a "European identity." In short, the ESDP is designed in no small part to further the project of nation-building in a broadening European Union. This article proposes a social-constructivist framework for analyzing this development.

Key Words: European Union • NATO • nation-building • constructivism • European security

Armed Forces & Society, Vol. 33, No. 1, 24-42 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0095327X05282118


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