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JCR Category: Business in ESCI edition

Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues Open access
Journal Impact FactorTM (2025) 1.5 Q3
Journal Citation IndicatorTM (2025) 0.25 Q4
Received: 2025-12-11  |  Accepted: 2026-03-14  |  Published: 2026-06-30

Title

European defence as a public good: economic, political and strategic dimensions


Abstract

This article analyses defence as a pure public good within the context of the European Union, arguing that its provision transcends the capabilities of individual states due to the inherent properties of non-excludability and non-rivalry. Adopting a multidisciplinary framework, the study employs a content and qualitative analysis of scholarly literature and policy documents, alongside a conceptual synthesis of economic, security, and political science approaches. The findings highlight persistent collective action problems—notably the "free-riding" phenomenon—the fragmentation of the European defence industry, and significant asymmetries in Member States' capabilities and expenditure. The paper demonstrates that political and institutional constraints, including subsidiarity, national sovereignty, and divergent strategic cultures, continue to hinder the transformation of defence into a genuine European public good, despite the introduction of frameworks such as the Strategic Compass and Readiness 2030. Furthermore, the economic analysis indicates that increasing defence spending without supranational coordination and targeted investment in research, development, and innovation fails to yield long-term security or economic dividends. The author underscores the necessity of strengthening collective financing, institutional consolidation, and strategic autonomy as essential prerequisites for the effective and efficient provision of defence in a multipolar and competitive global environment.


Keywords

Defence economics, European public good, collective action, fiscal federalism, EU defence policy


JEL classifications

F52 , H41 , H56 , H77


URI

http://jssidoi.org/jesi/article/1418


DOI


Pages

10-24


Funding


This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Authors

Ivančík, Radoslav
Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia https://www.ukf.sk
Articles by this author in: CrossRef |  Google Scholar

Andrassy, Vladimír
Armed Forces Academy of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia http://www.aos.sk
Articles by this author in: CrossRef |  Google Scholar

Journal title

Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues

Volume

13


Number

4


Issue date

June 2026


Issue DOI


ISSN

ISSN 2345-0282 (online)


Publisher

VšĮ Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, Vilnius, Lithuania

Cited

Google Scholar

Article views & downloads

HTML views: 537  |  PDF downloads: 427

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