European cooperation in the field of security and defence. International Relation theories perspective

The paper discusses various theoretical explanations of the European cooperation in the field of security and defence. According to realist explanations this cooperation was a response to external evolutions in the international system, i.e. changes in polarity and distribution of power. Liberals say that it was rather due to internal factors. Constructivists argue that it was a result of elites’ socialisation, while according to Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, it was caused by civil servants and military staff at the policy implementation level. The paper argues that external factors underlined by realists were decisive, i.e. America’s decreasing involvement in European security.