ABSTRACT
The book analyses the processes of institution and identity building of the European Union Diplomatic Service working on matters of foreign policy and external economic relations, both in Brussels and in the Commission’s Delegations across the world.
The book examines what images high ranking officials in charge of the EU foreign policy hold of the EU’s and of the Commission’s role in international politics. The author explains how the EU diplomatic network came into being, how it is currently organised and what changes are likely to take place with the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. Through an empirically grounded and theoretically informed approach, it analyses how their idea of Europe is enacted through the Commission’s diplomatic practices. Carta demonstrates how processes of socialization can bring about different foreign policy priorities, role conceptions and identities.
This book makes an important contribution to debates about the idea of Europe, the European Union and European foreign policy, as well as more generally to the analysis of how ideas, identities and self-images shape the daily practice of large institutional bodies in international politics. It will be of interest to students and scholars of European politics, foreign policy, international organizations, international relations and diplomacy.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |43 pages
Conceptualizing the EU diplomatic system
chapter |21 pages
The diplomatic system of a non-state actor
part |32 pages
A diplomatic service in the making
chapter |13 pages
Anatomy of the Commission's diplomatic service
part |37 pages
The actors in European diplomacy
chapter |23 pages
Who are ‘we's in the international arena?
part |42 pages
Prospects for the near future