ABSTRACT
The underlying dynamic is the working-out of several sets of relationships: between defense contractors within and across national boundaries; between European institutions and national governments alike; between corporate preferences and national political or economic interests; and finally, between North America and Europe. This chapter argues that there are a variety of possible outcomes for both the European and the transatlantic defense markets. These outcomes range at one pole from cooperation or free trade to, at the other, economic conflict. Three principal strategies—horizontal integration, sectoral consolidation, and complementary groupings—have been followed in various instances, and a number of different techniques have been used to implement these strategies. A critical difference of viewpoints exists over the priority to be given to opening defense markets on an Alliance-wide basis as opposed to completing European market restructuring. In the absence of an open and integrated European market, national monopolies are likely to impede seriously any true competition.
