American military commitments in Europe: Power, perceptions, and neoclassical realism

Theoretical approaches differ regarding the main motive for international conduct. Classical realism and defensive realism posit, respectively, power or security. Commercial liberalism, mercantilism, and revisionist American historiography suggest prosperity. Constructivism argues that identity-based ideals at times dominate. This research tested these four motives, by investigating a great power making crucial decisions regarding its most important overseas focus. The research question was: is there a pattern in the motives for American military commitments in Europe, and if there is---what is it?; The four theoretical-based motives were tested in all five cases of American military commitments in Europe: World War I, World War II, the establishment of NATO at the beginning of the Cold War, the perpetuation of NATO after the end of the Cold War, and the campaigns in the Former Yugoslavia (Bosnia & Kosovo).; The research finds that, across time and in most cases, power was the predominant factor. As American relative power grew, the United States sought to increase control over European affairs by expanding its political interests in the continent. This, however, did not happen in a uniform manner. States do not expand when their relative national power increases, but rather when central decisionmakers perceive a relative increase in state power. The 'reality' of the increase in American power was filtered by state structure, domestic politics and policymakers' perceptions. The theory most useful in explaining this long range process and American military commitments (at times delayed) is neoclassical realism.; Beyond presenting new and strong support for neoclassical realism, this research offers a refinement of it. The determining factor is not state power per se, but expendable state power. The research also finds that the definition of security is neither narrow nor rigid; that ideals and wealth do not necessarily compete with power as a motive, but at times rather complement it; and that decisionmakers' perceptions are highly influenced by learning from history. Since for Americans NATO is primarily an instrument of power, this research concludes that the United States has a strong motive for the continued existence of NATO.