ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 outlines the context of research on the EEAS and identifies three core questions addressing the significant bureaucratic change represented by the EEAS. A three-stage framework of bureaucratic change in a EU setting is developed, covering the inception, establishment and consolidation of a new bureaucratic body. The chapter breaks these down to specific EU contexts, in which the phases become distinguishable by fora, decision-making rules, actors and their respective roles in building a new bureaucratic actor in the EU.
