The Political Economy of NATO
Past, Present and into the 21st Century

Using simple economic methods while accounting for political and institutional factors, this book presents a political economy viewpoint of NATO's current and future status.

Todd Sandler (Author), Keith Hartley (Author)

9780521638807, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 April 1999

308 pages, 14 b/w illus. 39 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.46 kg

"Sandler and Hartley have provided a helpful introduction to the main policy issues confronting NATO's leadership. While demonstrating how tools of economic analysis can be applied to military issues, they also take due account of strategic and political considerations. They succeed in presenting a sophisticated analysis so as to be largely comprehensible to the non-technical reader, and in discussing issues from a neutral, trans-Atlantic perspective..." Anthony Lanyi, Public Choice

Using simple economic methods while accounting for political and institutional factors, this book puts forward a political economy viewpoint of NATO's current status and its future prospects. A balanced picture of NATO is presented that is sensitive to the perspectives from both sides of the Atlantic. This is accomplished by accounting for the institutional features and the philosophical aspects that distinguish government decision makers and the defense establishment in North America from their counterparts in Europe. A host of NATO policy concerns are addressed including the optimal membership for the alliance, its role in peacekeeping missions worldwide, the appropriate methods for deterring terrorism, and proper procurement practices for the next generation of weapons. Additional topics concern defense burden sharing, arms trade, NATO's institutional structure, and NATO's role vis-à-vis other international organizations. Although the analysis is rigorous, the book is intended for a wide audience drawn from political science and economics.

1. NATO at the crossroads: an introduction
2. NATO burden sharing and related issues
3. On NATO expansion
4. NATO and peacekeeping
5. NATO and the defense industrial base: EU and USA
6. NATO: challenges on the horizon
7. NATO and Europe
8. NATO design
9. NATO: conclusions and future scenarios.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP]