Heterogeneity vs. Standardization. The History of NATO burden sharing reconsidered.

This working paper „Aus der Forschung“ no. 1 (2024) reviews the history of burden sharing in NATO. It responds to the political question whether or not NATO-member states comply with the so-called defense investment pledge (DIP) of 2014. The DIP required to spend three percent of the GDP on defense. This working paper seeks to answer the question how NATO invented burden sharing and developed it by practice over time. It demonstrates that it provide to be impossible to expect member states to make the same contribution to NATO’s collective defense. Instead, they contributed state-specific resources. This way, NATO would capitalize on the broad heterogeneity of its members by tapping their respective strengths. Justice conceptualized as meeting a common measure of burden sharing applied to all member states was considered both, unachievable and undesirable as it conflicted with heterogeneity. NATO’s history of burden sharing was therefore a history of diffuse rather than specific reciprocity.

The DIP overturned these principles of NATO burden sharing because for the first time a common measure – three percent of GDP – replaced member state specific contributions. Heterogeneity gave way to standardization. This way, collective defense burdens – most importantly the threat of being the territory on which war is expected to be fought – are no longer considered a burden.

The working paper served as a draft for the article in Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen 32 (2) 2025 commemorating the late Prof. Dr. Helga Haftendorn.

Aus der Forschung 1/2024 (German only)