The foreign policies of European Union Member States

Book abstract:

This study provides a comparative analysis of the foreign policies of European Union Member States, including comprehensive coverage of the post-Maastricht period and the three newest members of the EU. It examines those policies which are 'Europeanised' through the EU's processes and those policies which are retained by states or excluded from these processes. In the only comparative study of its kind since 1978, the book analyses the dual impact of the Maastricht Treaty on the European Union, and the post-Cold War environment on the policy processes of the EU Member States. The book argues for a distinctive approach to the foreign policy analysis of EU states which recognises the fundamental changes that membership brings after the Cold War, but also acknowledges the diverse role of policies which states seek to retain or advance as being 'special'.

The analysis looks firstly at those states which might be considered most important, such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Secondly, it examines commonalities and differences among the smaller states, including Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Italy. In an innovative third section, the book looks at the post-neutral states, such as Finland, Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Ireland. All the empirical chapters are structured by six sets of explanatory questions.

The book will be of interest to students of European Studies, International Relations and European Member States' politics. Scholars of foreign policy analysis and the European Union will find this an original contribution to the field.

Ian Manners is Lecturer in European Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent at Canterbury. Richard Whitman is Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Diplomacy and Jean Monnet Lecturer in EU Studies at the University of Westminster.