Politics of European defence cooperation : Germany, France, British, and American

Since 1945, Europeans have looked primarily to the United States to preserve the peace they have enjoyed since World War II. Founded on the concept of nuclear deterrence and America's commitment to European defense, the trust Europeans place in America's con ventional and nuclear commitments is now being eroded by several factors, including persistent U.S. budget deficits, chronic U.S. criticism of Europe's own defense effort, and especially by the growing infeasibility of America's nuclear guarantee. These develop ments are likely to create a major change in the configuration of the Atlantic Alliance.

The Politics of European Defense Cooperation examines military cooperation among the NATO-European states and assesses the likelihood that a genuine "European Pillar" could evolve and reduce or replace America's role as the ultimate guarantor of Western European security. David Garnham emphasizes bilateral relations among the three principal European countries - West Germany, France, and the United Kingdom -and multilateral initiatives such as the revitalized Western European Union and the Independent European Programme Group. He then pays special attention to the bilateral Franco-German relationship, including the newly established Defense Council and bilateral brigade, armament cooperation, public opinion, joint military exercises, the implications of French tactical nuclear weapons for German defense, and the inevitability of French participation in the conventional defense of West Germany.

Garnham persuasively argues that Euro pean perceptions of American reliability deeply affect the pace of inter-European cooperation. If the United States continues to deploy large numbers of troops and extend the nuclear guarantee, cooperation will stall; but if the United States keeps pursuing a course of disengagement, geopolitical imperatives could produce unprecedented European unity. With the intertwined trends of American disengagement and European cooperation likely to continue, The Politics of European Defense Cooperation is must reading for anyone involved in defense policy, Western European international affairs, and U.S. foreign policy.