Values and Principles in European Union Foreign Policy

As a fresh examination of the values and principles that inform EU Foreign Policy, this book presents a clear and close reading of the EU as an international actor. This up-to-date volume explores the implications of these values and principles on the construction of European Union identity today. It also shows how current debates on European Union foreign policy and on European identity tend to be kept separated as if the process of identity formation had only an internal dimension or it was not related to the external behavior of an international actor. This new book examines the values and principles that inform EU Foreign Policy in order to achieve a better understanding of the EU as an international actor and to explore implications of these values and principles on the process of the construction of the European Union identity. Conceiving EU Foreign Policy in its broadest context, as a set of political actions that are regarded by external actors as EU actions, the contributors focus onboth Pillar I and Pillar II policies, involving EU and member state actions, and material political actions and less material ones such as speech acts. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective and drawing on political science, political economy, sociology, environmental science and women's studies this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of European studies and politics.