Arms, agencies and accountability: the case of OCCAR

Abstract:

The establishment of OCCAR, the European multinational arms procurement agency, raises interesting questions about its accountability and legitimacy. Is it right for such an agency to procure arms? This article examines the arguments about methods of accountability deemed more appropriate for judging agencies like OCCAR than just examining traditional parliamentary accountability. It then examines OCCAR through this lens of analysis. Finally, it rejects these suggestions as inadequate for failing to include an ideational component and argues that this is necessary for legitimacy especially in the politically sensitive area of defence and security.