ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses some of the attempts to introduce critical theories to the study of European integration and EU external relations. It shows how some of the insights of these critical theoretical approaches can help the authors to produce an alternative perspective on the EU's position within emergent patterns of global governance. The book discusses the opportunities and challenges facing the Commission in its attempt to engage with issues of global governance. It provides a useful introduction to this topic, discussing both the different types of region-to-region relationships, or 'inter-regionalism', before moving to a discussion of the concrete cases of EU-African, EU-Asian and EU-Latin American interregionalism. The book examines the ability of the EU to achieve desired outcomes in these areas that has been limited, due to problems associated with both policy coherence and the failure to fully incorporate local grassroots actors.
