In 2003 the European Union finally agreed upon the long discussed European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). Now the use of military means within the common foreign policy is possible. What was the incentive for the member states to take this step? Dirk Peters answers this question in his new book Constrained Balancing: The EU's Security Policy and focusses on two countries with formerly different approaches: Germany and Great Britain. He finds that both now try to counterbalance against the U.S. by the use of what he calls "constrained balancing", which is becoming (military) independent from the U.S. and maintaining relations with this important partner at the same time.
The author also develops a new approach of foreign policy analysis and contributes to the research on a fundamental part of the European security order after the Cold War. The book has been published by Palgrave and is available in bookstores for ca. 75,- EUR.