ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the consequences of applying narrow and broad conceptions, respectively. While narrow conceptions tend to focus exclusively on Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) matters, broad conceptions include other major issue areas such as trade, development, enlargement, environment, value promotion, defense and crisis management. The chapter outlines four contending images of contemporary European Union (EU) foreign policy: Misery; Failure; Potentials; and The Rise of a Great Power, demonstrates how different mindsets heavily influence perspectives and conclusions. It analyzes what it takes to constitute a global player. The chapter traces linkages between foreign policy practice, the author's analytical reflections on practice, and the codification of certain practices. It focuses on the assumption that treaties may codify existing practices but are unlikely to trigger significant new foreign policy practices. The state of EU foreign policy has always been a hotly contested issue.
