Die Politische Ökonomie der Verteidigungs- und Bündnispolitik

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of defense and alliance policy which broadens the existing Political Economy approach to these policy fields. In the first part, the discretionary behavior of politicians, bureaucrats, and lobbyists in national defense policy is discussed. The second part analyses the mainsprings for international security cooperation as well as the burden sharing conflicts within alliances; a special focus is put on the common defense policy of the EU. Using econometric and game-theoretical concepts, the results reveal severe inefficiencies in the process of providing external security as well as a strong divergence from the median voter’s interests.