European Foreign Policy: The EC and Changing Perspectives in Europe(Sage Modern Politics Series)

Can the dominant theories in foreign policy analysis explain recent European events-particularly the twin "revolutions" of the ending of the Cold War and the proposed further integration of Europe under the Maastricht Treaty? In "European Foreign Policy" leading international scholars address the implications of this question. Analyzing foreign policy changes in the new Europe, the contributors assess the state and foreign policy, foreign economic policy, the long term future of European security and the role of multinational companies. The book also focuses on foreign policy actors in the light of major theories. The discussions range from the examination of weak power theory in the context of Nordic reactions to the Soviet coup to the agency-structure debate after the collapse of the Cold War European system. In addition, two substantial critiques by specialists from outside the field explore the issues raised in this book from a feminist perspective as well as from a post-modem view of the wider theoretical context within which foreign policy analysis is embedded. A unique contribution, "European Foreign Policy" interrogates the relationship between academic analysis and political reality by examining empirical issues in the light of contemporary theory. It will be of considerable interest to students taking courses on European foreign policy, and to scholars working in foreign policy analysis, international relations theory and the external politics of the European Community and its members.

Table of Contents:
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Foreign Policy Theory and the New Europe - Steve Smith PART TWO: THE CHANGING FOREIGN POLICY CONTEXT OF THE NEW EUROPE Beyond the Stable State? - Michael Smith Foreign Policy Challenges and Opportunities in the New Europe The Long-Term Future of European Security - Thomas Risse-Kappen Foreign Economic Policy in the New Europe - Roger Tooze Multinational Enterprises as Actors - Gerd Junne PART THREE: FOREIGN POLICY ACTORS IN THE NEW EUROPE The Evolution of the EC/EU as a Single Foreign Policy Actor - Ben Soetendorp Tensions in Sovereignty - Frank Pfetsch Foreign Policies of EC Members Compared After Maastricht - Alfred van Staden Explaining the Movement Towards a Common European Defence Policy Testing Weak Power Theory - Hans Mouritzen Three Nordic Reactions to the Soviet Coup Changing Course - Bengt Sundelius When Neutral Sweden Chose to Join the European Community Context and Action in the Collapse of the Cold War European System - Olav F Knudsen PART FOUR: CRITIQUES What′s New? - Marysia Zalewski Feminist Observations on the New Europe Resisting the Temptation of Post Foreign Policy Analysis - Ole W(scandinavian ae)ver PART FIVE: CONCLUSION In Lieu of a Conclusion - Walter Carlsnaes Compatibility and the Agency-Structure Issue in Foreign Policy Analysis

About the Author :
ABOUT THE EDITOR Steven Rathgeb Smith, Editor of NVSQ, is Associate Professor of Public Affairs at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs and serves on the editorial boards of Voluntas, Public Management, the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Nonprofit Studies. A prolific author, he has written and coauthored many books and articles including Nonprofits for Hire: The Welfare State in the Age of Contracting and Public Policy for Democracy. A frequent conference presenter, Dr. Smith serves on a number of international advisory bodies and is chair of the Nonprofit Management Program at the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.

Review :
`A landmark collection of studies by European scholars on the value and relevance of FPA in light of the changing international circumstances. European Foreign Policy is a more coherent product than most edited volumes. It is also a welcome revision of, and addition to, the existing literature. This book is a landmark publication in the sense that it takes new initiatives in, and provides new solutions to, problems that are central to foreign policy analysis. As a consequence, it has a rare cumulative impact in the field′ - Mershon International Studies Review `Of special interest to scholars and graduate students concerned with international relations theory, comparative foreign policy and politics, and FPA. The bibliography is excellent, covering most of the theoretical literature [and] is particularly helpful for those unfamiliar with this literature. Graduate students who are working their way through this labyrinth of conflicting and overlapping theories for the first time will find the volume useful as well as reassuring... As theory and think pieces, all of the essays are of high quality and display impressive control of the sprawling literature that in toto constitutes what passes for theory building in international relations and FPA′ - European Security `This collection of essays looks at what IR theory has to offer for explaining the situation after the Cold War and, in particular, the challenges posed by European integration, a process which is increasingly blurring the boundaries of foreign and domestic policy areas. Steve Smith′s introduction sets out the theoretical challenges for European foreign policy analysis, highlighting the fact that the book aims to challenge American intellectual hegemony. Part II examines what IR theory has to say about four key issues: the role of the state, European security, foreign economic policy and multinational enterprises. These chapters are well executed and thought-provoking. They are followed in Part III by the application of the theory to several empirical issues... this is a valuable collection which will not only be widely used among IR students but also deserves close study by European integration specialists′ - Political Studies `A stimulating contribution to the debate on theories of international relations and foreign policy analysis′ - Journal of Peace Research `This very useful collection of fourteen essays is the product of an ongoing collaboration of British, German, Dutch and Scandinavian scholars under the auspices of the European Consortium of Political Research.... these essays are valuable in several ways and in ways that lend insight into the state of foreign policy analysis in Europe... the chapters usefully describe in a broader manner what has been going on in European foreign policy in the past five years. The reader leaves this book with a better sense of the kinds of international pressures faced by European governments and the various ways in which they have sought to reorient their foreign policies... the empirical chapters are usefully focussed on a common phenomenon: the occurence of change in foreign policy.... It is clearly an important contribution to the mainstream of foreign policy analysis, and again especially for a US and other audiences that have not been able to observe close hand the recent events and trends in European international politics′ - Cooperation and Conflict