Burden sharing in security organizations: Broadening the burden sharing debate

Burden sharing in security organizations: broadening the burden sharing debate

This study argues that burden sharing entails more than defense spending only, covering military capabilities, contributions to missions and soft power issues as well. In this respect, the study broadens the burden sharing debate amongst security organizations from a one-sided input approach concerning the military to a more comprehensive view on security communities. Doing so, a variety of dimensions and parameters to measure states’ burden sharing behavior are put forward. By considering burden sharing a process rather than an output, politicians are offered opportunities to conduct more meaningful and in-depth dialogues. Before focusing on the distribution of the burden, instead, such dialogues may start by asking ‘How do individual states’ contributions aggregate?’ As a consequence, mutual understanding of how states perceive and value international public goods may develop, rendering discussions on the distribution of the burdens to bear more constructive.