Structural Realism: Balancing, Bandwagoning, or What?

Realist scholars have been challenged by the growing European integration in defence issues. In particular, Neorealism, given its exclusive focus on systemic variables, has been considered either inadequate or obsolete. However, we argue that Realism offers a variety of analytical tools that may be used to account for the ESDP/CSDP process. Still from a systemic perspective, we suggest that the efforts to forge a common security and defense policy originated not from within the EU, but from the outside – namely the Transatlantic relationship. This approach has traditionally led Realists to refine the concept of balance of power. Contrary to this view, in this chapter we discuss the potential of bandwagoning as an explanatory concept. Put it differently, our argument is that European states resorted to CSDP in order to contribute to, not to counter, the Transatlantic relationship – i.e., the European states have bandwagoned with the USA.