The Continent or the 'Grand Large?' Strategic Culture and Operational Burden Sharing in NATO

80 Pages Posted: 16 Dec 2014 Last revised: 24 Nov 2016

See all articles by Jordan Becker

Jordan Becker

United States Military Academy, Department of Social Science; Free University of Brussels (VUB)-Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Institute for European Studies, Students; Chaire ECODEF - IHEDN; Institut de Recherche Stratégique de l’Ecole Militaire (IRSEM - Institute for Strategic Research)

Edmund J. Malesky

Duke University - Department of Political Science

Date Written: October 7, 2014

Abstract

Policy discussions on transatlantic security frequently focus on the topic of burden sharing, highlighting the imbalance between U.S. and European military expenditures. Alliance scholarship in the fields of international security and political economy offers plausible explanations for this imbalance, based on the perspectives of balance of threat, institutional adaptation, security communities, and collective action. We argue that the more states articulate their national security strategy in Atlanticist terms, the more likely they are to allocate resources to military operations. We find evidence for this argument by using a content analysis of 95 national security strategy documents of NATO allies, and assessing the correlation between Atlanticist language in states’ strategy documents and those states’ allocation of financial resources to military operations, as opposed to personnel, infrastructure, or equipment expenditures.

Keywords: burden sharing, strategic culture, NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, operations, Atlanticist, Europeanist

JEL Classification: D74

Suggested Citation

Becker, Jordan and Malesky, Edmund J., The Continent or the 'Grand Large?' Strategic Culture and Operational Burden Sharing in NATO (October 7, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2536447 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2536447

Jordan Becker (Contact Author)

United States Military Academy, Department of Social Science ( email )

600 Thayer Rd
West Point, NY 10996
United States

Free University of Brussels (VUB)-Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Institute for European Studies, Students ( email )

Ixelles
Belgium

Chaire ECODEF - IHEDN ( email )

Institut de Recherche Stratégique de l’Ecole Militaire (IRSEM - Institute for Strategic Research) ( email )

École Militaire - case 38
1, place Joffre
Paris SP 07, 75007
France

Edmund J. Malesky

Duke University - Department of Political Science ( email )

140 Science Drive (Gross Hall), 2nd floor
Duke University Mailcode: 90204
Durham, NC 27708-0204
United States

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