Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book focuses on "effective multilateralism", the vision of the European Union's (EU) foreign and security policy. It explores the need to transform the non-proliferation regime given the lessons learned from the Iran nuclear issue. The book describes the conceptual framework for studying the EU-Iran nuclear negotiations. It presents the story of the nuclear negotiations from 2003 to 2015, starting with persuasive engagement as three European foreign ministers decided to talk to Iran. The book also explores the multilateral negotiations, the actors and their relations. It deals with the tools the international community disposes of when pressuring a country to not to build a bomb: sanctions and military threats. The book introduces sanctions as economic warfare to change the target country's behavior. It concludes with a discussion on the policy lessons learned for the non-proliferation regime.