A Critical Perspective on Data Transparency in the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union. Methodological Challenges in Foreign Policy Research

Summary:

The aim of this data collection is to examine the output of the European Union (EU) in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. To date, European academic research has been lacking a comprehensive quantitative record of CFSP output. Individual data sets, such as on the sanctions imposed by the EU, are an exception and already well documented and analysed in detail. However, a documentation of the CFSP, such as published by the German Federal Foreign Office in the 1990s, has been discontinued. The unique feature of this analysis is therefore the ambition to systematically collect all public data on various areas of the CFSP.

In a first step, the methodological approach to data collection chosen here is presented. SPARQL queries were used as well as an automated collection of raw data by means of web scraping of the Council websites. In a subsequent step, a descriptive analysis of the data on CFSP output follows. Council decisions, sanctions and minutes of Council meetings as well as press releases are examined. The pilot study on CFSP output carried out here makes it possible to formulate recommendations for improved functional transparency, which is a necessary step for further research.

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