Taxing for war: How federal polities built fiscal-military capacity and what it means for the EU

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies

This seminar will present early-stage research for a new comparative project investigating the co-evolution of fiscal and military capacity in federal polities, with the aim of drawing policy-relevant lessons for the EU.

When and under what conditions do federal unions develop the fiscal capacity to finance common defence?

Drawing on the historical experience of the United States and other federal unions, the speaker will examine the critical junctures at which central governments acquired direct taxing powers and the political conditions that enabled these transformations. The question is highly salient for the EU today as it confronts mounting pressures to strengthen common defence — from the fiscal innovations introduced through Next Generation EU after the COVID-19 pandemic to renewed debates on defence financing in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The talk aims to refine the project’s conceptual framework and invites critical feedback on the comparative design, case selection, and theoretical contribution ahead of a future ERC application.