Twenty years ago, in the pages of the, Journal of Common Market Studies, Hedley Bull launched a searing critique of the European Community's "civilian power" in international affairs. Since that time the increasing role of the European Union (EU) in areas of security and defence policy has led to a seductiveness in adopting the notion of "military power Europe". In contrast, I will attempt to argue that by thinking beyond traditional conceptions of the EU's international role and examining the case study of its international pursuit of the abolition of the death penalty, we may best conceive of the EU as a "normative power Europe".

Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms?

In this 2006 book, Jonas Tallberg offers a novel perspective on some of the most fundamental questions about international cooperation and European Union politics. Offering the first systematic theoretical and empirical exploration of the influence wielded by chairmen of multilateral negotiations, Tallberg develops a rationalist theory of formal leadership and demonstrates its explanatory power through carefully selected case studies of EU negotiations. He shows that the rotating Presidency of the EU constitutes a power platform that grants governments unique opportunities to shape the outcomes of negotiations. His provocative analysis establishes that Presidencies, while performing vital functions for the EU, simultaneously exploit their privileged political position to favour national interests. Extending the scope of the analysis to international negotiations on trade, security and the environment, Tallberg further demonstrates that the influence of the EU Presidency is not an isolated occurrence but the expression of a general phenomenon in world politics - the power of the chair.

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Leadership and Negotiation in the European Union

The expansion of European Union (EU) foreign policy cooperation since 1970 presents a number of puzzles for theorists of regional integration and International Relations. It is not directed by supranational organizations, does not involve bargaining over policy alternatives, and is not dominated by the largest EU states. Nor do the EU’s common foreign policy decisions reflect ‘lowest common denominator’ preferences. Instead, cooperation has been achieved through decentralized institutional mechanisms, involving processes associated with both intergovernmental and social constructivist theories. This article first explains how changes in institutional context — in terms of intergovernmental, transgovernmental and supranational procedures — affect the propensity for cooperation. It then links processes of institutionalization to an expansion of foreign policy cooperation among EU member states. Finally, it explores three policy areas (the Middle East, South Africa and nuclear non-proliferation) where EU states have adjusted their national foreign policies in line with EU foreign policy norms.

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Institutionalization, Policy Adaptation and European Foreign Policy Cooperation

European co - operation in foreign policy, or political co - operation, recently completed its third decade of institutional development. Most of this change has taken place at European level, often by adopting or adapting the procedures of the European Community. Yet the expansion of foreign, and now security, policy co - operation in the European Union (EU) has also increasingly penetrated into the domestic politics of its member states. This article suggests a conceptual framework for measuring the ways political co - operation has encouraged corresponding changes in EU member states. Four indicators of national adaptation are stressed: elite socialization, bureaucratic restructuring, constitutional changes,and changes in public perceptions about the desirability and legitimacy of this co - operation. These types of change demonstrate that the demands of foreign policy co - operation are much greater than those outlined in treaty articles, and must be taken into consideration as the EU negotiates its n...

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Conforming to Europe: the domestic impact of EU foreign policy co-operation

Preface 1: The study of EU foreign policy: Between international relations and European studies - Thomas Christiansen and Ben Tonra 2: Theorising the European Union's foreign policy - Knud Erik Jorgensen 3: International Relations or European integration: Is the CFSP sui generis? - Jakob C. Ohrgaard 4: Foreign policy analysis and European foreign policy - Brian White 5: Discourse analysis in the study of European foreign policy - Henrik Larsen 6: Role-identity and the Europeanisation of foreign policy: A political-cultural approach - Lisbeth Aggestam 7: Interests, institutions and identities in the study of european foreign policy - Adrian Hyde-Price 8: Theory and practice of multi-level foreign policy: European Union's policy in the field of arms export controls - Sibylle Bauer and Eric Remacle 9: Justifying EU foreign policy: The logics underpinning EU enlargement - Helen Sjursen and Karen E. Smith

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Rethinking European Union Foreign Policy

European Political Cooperation in the 1980s :: a common foreign policy for Western Europe?

Part 1 Introduction - concepts and instruments: the dialogue of the EC/Twelve with other regional groups - a new European identity in international system?, Elfriede Regelsberger competing frameworks - the dialogue and its legal bases, Catherine Flaesch-Mougin. Part 2 Case studies - the dialgue in action: the Lome Covention - a model for partnership, Otto Schmuck the Euro-Arab dialogue, Elfriede Regelesberger cooperation with ASEAN - a success story, Manfred Mols relations with central and southern America - a question of over-reach, W. Grabendorff EC-EFTA relations - neighbours in search of a new partnership, Thomas Pedersen agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council - a promising if difficult beginning, E. Rhein EC-CMEA relations - normalization and beyond, Barbara Lippert. Part 3 The institutional framework - dialogue and the European actors: the Commission - protagonists of inter-regional cooperation, Simon Nuttall the Council of Ministers - the constraint on action, Andreas von Stechow the European Parliament - an emerging political role?, Karl-Heinz Neunreither European political cooperation - concerted diplomacy in an inter-regional context, Peter von Jagow. Part 4 Conclusions - the dialogue and its place in the European and international systems: the relevance to theory to group-to-group dialogue, Geoffrey Edwards.

Europe's Global Links: The European Community and Inter-Regional Cooperation

The major constitional, political and legal issues confronting the European Union as the end of the century approaches are discussed in this book by scholars in the field. Taking as their point of departure the Inter-Governmental Conference of 1996, which will set the parameters for the next stage of integration in Europe, they look at external and internal demands and pressures, and at the interests and strategies of the political actors involved. The result is a wide-ranging assessment of Europe's future.

Geoffrey Edwards

Papers

European Political Cooperation in the 1980s :: a common foreign policy for Western Europe?

Europe's Global Links: The European Community and Inter-Regional Cooperation

The politics of European Treaty reform : the 1996 intergovernmental conference and beyond