The Handbook of European Defence Policies and Armed Forces

Reviews of The Handbook of European Defence Policies and Armed Forces

European defence has become beached by debates which have overlooked its real achievements in some areas as well as its increasing political importance in the wake of Trump and Brexit. This is therefore an important and timely book, which provides both the informed comment which can too often seem in short supply and the substance which ought to underpin it.' * Sir Hew Strachan, Professor of International Relations, University of St Andrews. * For reasons of shifts in the global distribution of economic and hence military potential, and rapid domestic political change, international politics suddenly seems to resemble the traditional security and power competitions of the past. Europe is both agent and subject of these changes. Yet the systematic study of security policy in Europe has suffered from a kind of balkanization; some study politics; some study institutions; a few study actual military power andits employment. These subjects are seldom treated comprehensively, or comparatively. This work approaches the study of European security from all of these perspectives, integrates them, and most importantly focuses on the nation states, which remain the locus of European military capabilities, andthus fighting power.' * Barry R Posen, Ford International Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Director of the MIT Security Studies Program. * As European defence integration has stalled and we are experiencing a return to 19th-century renationalization of large areas of defence, there is a deficit in comparative analyses of security policies and force structures of individual European states. This expert collection combining latest figures with first-rate analysis covers not only most European states but also general subjects such as naval power, cyber defence and intelligence, and the many regional orbilateral initiatives that have sprung up to overcome the limitations of single-state defence capabilities. This essential handbook should be on every security studies scholar and defence practitioner's shelf!' * Professor Beatrice Heuser, Chair of International Relations, University of Glasgow. * Truly comprehensive in scope, with contributions from leading experts, this outstanding collection is an essential primer for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of European defence and security. The mix of national, cross-European, and thematic chapters in one collection is especially welcome and makes it stand out from the existing literature. * Professor Theo Farrell, Department of War Studies, King's College London *