Does the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the EU suffer under a democratic deficit? In addition to the normative discussion, an empirical analysis of the German, British and European Parliament as well as a categorization of the EU-27 aims to provide a comprehensive answer to this central question. The study shows that general conclusions about a democratic deficit fall short of taking into account the variety of historically grown perceptions and traditions of democracy regarding foreign and security policy in the 27 Member States. The democratic legitimacy of CSDP remains sufficiently guaranteed as long as the existing national procedures for parliamentary control are fully complied with.