European Union foreign policy: from effectiveness to functionality

The study of EU foreign policy has for a long time been haunted by Henry Kissinger's famous quip, "what number do I call if I want to get through to Europe?" This has prompted scholars to inquire into the effectiveness of the EU as an international actor. Arguing that the focus on effectiveness has pushed EU studies too far into the world of policy planning, this book examines EU foreign policy from the perspective of functionality. It asks what function foreign policy co-operation plays in the wider European integration process. The findings are original and striking: EU foreign policy serves as a way of managing Europe's retreat from power politics, is the site for inter-institutional struggles between the Council, Commission and Parliament within the EU, and increasingly provides the EU with a new identity at a time when the traditional narratives of European integration are no longer so convincing for European citizens. Far from being the poor cousin of other policy areas, foreign policy is increasingly the terrain upon which the future of the EU is being decided.

IntroductionFunctionality in EU Foreign Policy: A Framework of AnalysisManaging Ambivalence: National Foreign Policy in an Age of 'Power Avoidance'The Politics of Performance: Turf Battles in EU Foreign PolicyNormative Power and the EU's Search for Meaning Saving the Union? EU Foreign Policy and the Democratic DeficitConclusion.

Scholars and policymakers in EU foreign policy lament the EU's inability to assert itself on the world stage. This book explains this weakness by arguing that EU foreign policy is burdened by various internal functions, and systemizes the analysis of internal functionality, pushing the study beyond the concern with effectiveness