Bilateral Embassies in an Integrated Europe: a Case of Institutional Robustness?

Abstract: Bilateral diplomacy is typically portrayed as under threat by European integration, which has forged direct links between sectoral ministries, introduced an all-embracing policy arena in Brussels and, arguably, rendered traditional embassy representation irrelevant. This article questions whether the decline thesis indeed holds sway, inspired by insights from historical institutionalism. Drawing on data from diplomatic service lists, a time-series analysis of embassy staff allocation is presented. The results from five foreign services point towards maintained representation in the EU-15 and a strong increase in the EU-16-27, in line with an expectation of institutional robustness. With regard to variation between the foreign services, convergence in representation patterns is a dominant trend. Furthermore, it is suggested, where the foreign ministry has a strong position, changes in the allocation of embassy staff will be less radical. Among the cases, France points itself out by its high and increasing priority of embassies in EU-15.