In this first empirical chapter I look at factors that might facilitate or hinder cooperation in the area of European Security and Defence Policy (renamed Common Security and Defence Policy with the entering into force of the Lisbon Treaty). The chapter begins by providing a brief account of what ESDP is all about, its main actors, and the state of affairs in both its military and civilian constituent parts (3.1). This appraisal is followed by an overview of the stances of the twenty-seven Member States in ESDP and the extent to which they have cooperated in furthering this policy through personnel deployments (3.2). This provides a context for the statistical analysis developed in section 3.3. Finally, on the basis of statistical results, an in-depth analysis of some of the most relevant cases (France, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania) is carried out (3.4). Its aim is to clarify the mechanism whereby swings in the popularity of a government translate into the secondment of fewer or more personnel.

Origins, evolution, and current state of affairs

A common defence policy seemed a remote possibility only a few decades ago, and yet throughout the past two decades it has been one of the fastest growing areas of European integration. What explains this evolution? Stark (2006) argues that ESDP results from the conjunction of several relevant trends. Firstly, the patent failure of European states to avoid warfare in the former Yugoslavia and the awareness of an operative gap vis-à-vis the United States in the ensuing NATO intervention. Secondly, the French rapprochement towards NATO that helped appease British and American suspicions. Thirdly, the acknowledgement by Britain that the European pillar of NATO had to be reinforced. Finally, the culmination of Germany's normalization process and at the same time a realization by neutral states that new challenges emerging from the end of the Cold War required them to play a more active role.

The launching of ESDP, however, was only the start of a process which had no predefined direction. As in many other areas of European integration, the direction ESDP would take in the end would depend on a combination of reactions to external factors and the slow process of reaching agreements between MS. The process is still going on; its most recent additions have been the creation of battle-groups and of the European Defence Agency (EDA).