To What Ends EU Foreign Policy? Contending Approaches to the Union’s Diplomatic Objectives and Representation (original) (raw)

Explaining the negotiation of EU foreign policy: Normative institutionalism and alternative approaches

Despite the vast literature on the development of EU foreign policy institutions and the EU's growing experience as an international actor, relatively little effort has been made to explain the often-contentious negotiations among Member States that determine whether or not a common policy is adopted, and if so, what it will be. This paper proposes a Normative Institutionalist theory of intra-EU negotiations on foreign policy and external relations, including hypotheses that explain policy outcomes in terms of entrapment and cooperative bargaining dynamics. It compares these hypotheses' causal mechanisms and observable implications to those of hypotheses derived from Intergovernmentalism as well as theories of Social Learning and Normative Suasion.

The EEAS and the European Foreign Policy: The new “diplomatic service” of the EU as an attempt to implement its common foreign policy

This work aims to study the EEAS as an attempt by the EU to implement its common foreign policy. It will try to answer the main question that follows: Is the creation of the European External Action Service a successful step in the path of the attempt to implement the European common foreign policy? At a first look, this paper will deal with the EEAS as an effective attempt to implement the common foreign policy through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, especially regarding the need of consistency and coherence explained by several scholars. While, in a second part, the relative failure of this attempt will be demonstrated, in particular regarding the institutional weakness and the domination of the national interests of the EU member states.

"The Practice of Diplomacy and EU Security Policy," in New Approaches to EU Foreign Policy, edited by Maciej Wilga and Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski

Routledge, 2014

Will the EU become a significant security actor with the ability to protect its common borders and make important contributions to global security? I argue that networks of high-level diplomats based in Brussels play a key role in bringing together disparate interests across member-states to make security integration possible. Two key groups – the Committee of Permanent Representatives and the Political and Security Committee – are at the pinnacle of this diplomatic activity. Drawing upon dozens of interviews, this chapter uses a constructivist approach and epistemic community framework to examine how the internal processes within these groups impact their ability to shape the trajectory of security integration.

The Study of EU Foreign Policy: Between International Relations and European Studies

Rethinking European Union foreign …, 2004

The European Union‟s foreign policy is an ongoing puzzle encompassing a number of paradoxes. The membership of the enlarging European Union has set itself ever more ambitious goals in the field of foreign policy-making, yet at the same time each member state continues to guard their ability to conduct an independent foreign policy. As far as the EU‟s ambitions are concerned, basic foreign policy co-operation led first to co-ordination, and later the goal of creating a „common‟ foreign policy. However, behind each raised level of ambition was an unsatisfying reality of continuing policy incoherence and ineffectiveness. Similarly, early ambitions that Europe should develop a single foreign policy „voice‟ have been supplanted by aspirations to create a common security and defence policy – even as the Union‟s voice continues to be often fragmented and frequently tentative in its expression. Moreover, while the desire to maintain the national veto over decision-making within the „second pillar‟ of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) remains, it is increasingly challenged by the realisation that without extended use of qualified majority voting a common policy may prove illusory.

The EU Global Strategy and diplomacy

The new EU Global Strategy has significant implications for EU diplomacy, in terms of both goals and means. This article first analyses the timing of the strategy as an exercise in diplomacy in its own right. Second, it argues that the strategy outlines a more expansive and noticeably more smart power- oriented approach to diplomacy in practical terms. Finally, it notes that the strategy has a new meta-narrative for EU diplomacy, which seeks to project a blend of both realistic assessment and idealistic aspiration.

The study of EU foreign policy

Manchester University Press eBooks, 2018

The European Union's foreign policy is an ongoing puzzle. The membership of the enlarging European Union has set itself ever more ambitious goals in the field of foreign policy-making, yet at the same time each member state continues to guard its ability to conduct an independent foreign policy. As far as the EU's ambitions are concerned, foreign policy cooperation led to coordination, and coordination in turn gave way to the aspiration of developing a common foreign policy. Concern over foreign policy was the precursor to endeavours to cooperate in matters of security and eventually defence policy. And the desire to maintain the national veto over decision-making within the 'second pillar' of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) gave way to the acceptance that, at least in some agreed areas, detailed policies-joint actions and common positions-would be determined by qualified majority vote. Yet, despite these advances the reluctance of member states to submit their diplomacy to the strait-jacket of EU decision-making has remained. Individual states have maintained distinct national foreign policies, whether this is about specific regional interests, specific global issues or special relationships with other powers. This has been reflected in the institutional arrangements based on the principle of unanimity. Indeed, the very pillar structure of the EU treaties-separating the 'Community pillar' from the special regime that governs CFSP and parts of Justice and Home Affairs-is a hallmark of an arrangement in which member states have sought to minimise the role of supranational institutions and preserve national autonomy. And yet, despite the sensitivity of member states in the area of foreign policy, and their caution to move beyond intergovernmental decision-making mechanisms in this field, foreign policy has been one of the areas in which European integration has made the most dynamic advances. This includes institutional innovations such as the establishment of the post of High Representative for the CFSP and the creation of an EU Military Staff, both based within the

The European Union as a Diplomatic Actor

This volume assesses the European Union (EU) as a 'Diplomatic Actor' in key foreign policy fields in the post-Lisbon era. It brings together leading scholars and practitioners in order to examine the main players, processes and outcomes of the EU's collective diplomatic engagement in the fields of security, human rights, trade and finance and environmental politics. In addition, the collection also analyses institutional developments and the EU's responses to major internal and external challenges in the context of international politics and global diplomacy. It provides the first comprehensive overview of the scope, nature and impact of the EU's growing role as a diplomatic actor and offers a comparative analysis of EU diplomacy in bilateral, multilateral and international fora. By taking stock of the successes and failures of EU diplomacy, this volume identifies the main internal and external conditions that shape the EU's influence in global affairs.

The European Union as a Diplomatic Actor: Introduction

Introduction and Analytical Framework for the edited volume "The European Union as a Diplomatic Actor" (co-edited with Gjovalin Macaj). This volume assesses the European Union (EU) as a 'Diplomatic Actor' in key foreign policy fields in the post-Lisbon era. It brings together leading scholars and practitioners in order to examine the main players, processes and outcomes of the EU's collective diplomatic engagement in the fields of security, human rights, trade and finance and environmental politics. In addition, the collection also analyses institutional developments and the EU's responses to major internal and external challenges in the context of international politics and global diplomacy. It provides the first comprehensive overview of the scope, nature and impact of the EU's growing role as a diplomatic actor and offers a comparative analysis of EU diplomacy in bilateral, multilateral and international fora. By taking stock of the successes and failures of EU diplomacy, this volume identifies the main internal and external conditions that shape the EU's influence in global affairs.

The EU global strategy: the dynamics of a more politicized and politically integrated foreign policy

Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 2019

The European Union (EU) has been portrayed as a force for good in the international system. However, due to systemic changes in the international environment and the crises of European integration, its role in the world is becoming more contentious. This paper applies the politicization literature to EU foreign policy and, using the case of the EU Global Strategy (EUGS), questions the effects of emerging politicization for EU political integration. The paper analyses how the EUGS has downscaled the transformative ambition of EU foreign policy, showcasing an adverse framing of its strategic narrative. However, it also argues that this narrative has been accompanied by more integrationist practices, as shown by the institutional developments during the making of the EUGS and its implementation in security and defence. The paper concludes that the effects of emerging politicization in EU foreign policy can simultaneously reflect a less transformative narrative but lead to more integrated practices and policies.