| The dissertation examines to what extent the European Union (EU), industry, and national governments contributed to the consolidation that happened in Europe's defense and aerospace sector between 1987 and 1999. It scrutinizes the power play between key European national governments (France, Germany, and the UK), leading aerospace and defense corporations (DASA, British Aerospace, Aerospatiale, Dassault Aviation, and the Matra-Lagardere group), and the European Commission for liberalizing the defense industrial market, while examining the role that perceptions of "economic security"---in their technological, military, and competitiveness dimensions---played in this process.; Although framed by international relations theories and examples, the analysis is a sectoral study in European defense industrial issues that explores the changing patterns of governance in its aerospace sector since the final days of the Cold War. Taking into account the overlapping relationship between the aerospace and defense industries, it investigates which factors and actors were the most influential in this process, and why. It evaluates what political, industrial, economic, and technological circumstances enabled certain actors to bring about the consolidation. Thus, indirectly, it addresses the great question of whether the creation of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) was EU (national governments and/or the Commission) driven, or if it was the industry that actually spurred the event.; It also assesses whether the corporate sector played a catalytic role in speeding up the dynamics of change and integration in European defense industrial policies. Finally, it concludes by reflecting to what extent Europe had by the end of the 1990s the competitive and defense technological base that might lessen the risk of a fracture in transatlantic relations. |
