Internationale Friedensmissionen und nationale Interessen

Neither the established theories of international relations nor common foreign policy theories can satisfactorily explain why states participate in foreign military operations and what determines the concrete extent of their support. In this study, the author remedies this failing by drawing on the theory of public goods. Using Germany as an example, he shows that support for foreign missions is motivated by the production of private (country-specific) goods, such as having a good reputation as an ally, and that a level of support is chosen that is expected to generate the greatest private benefit. Only the prospect of the production of private goods creates an incentive to participate, because private benefit cannot be maximised by free-riding. The realisation of humanitarian objectives in the form of the provision of public goods, such as the protection of human rights, thus becomes a by-product of the production of private goods.