Tag Archives: foreign policy

Ireland and Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in EU Security and Defence

  Over the last year Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has been working with member states on a package of measures designed to deepen EU cooperation in security and defence. This has come in response to a number of developments: the threat of state-sponsored hybrid warfare and the undermining of democratic processes,Continue reading “Ireland and Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in EU Security and Defence”

Ireland’s European Security and Defence Questions

While everyone is (understandably) focused on Brexit, there is much more going on in Brussels that needs attention. Near the top of that list has to be plans for closer EU security and defence cooperation. Big decisions are due before December and – as of yet – the arguments have not had much of anContinue reading “Ireland’s European Security and Defence Questions”

The EU Global Strategy and Academia – new avenues for cooperation

On 12 June 2017, I was invited, along with about 70  other academics, foreign and security policy experts, think tank staff and policy makers to a ‘high level’ Jean Monnet thematic seminar on the “EU’s Global Strategy – From Vision to Action”. This was organised by the EU Commission’s DG Education and Culture and theContinue reading “The EU Global Strategy and Academia – new avenues for cooperation”

The State of EU Foreign Policy Scholarship

EU foreign policy scholarship has made an undoubted contribution to our understanding of politics at the global level. First, it has added to our understanding of what EU membership means for member states. The complex and reciprocal relationship between national political systems and a developing European-level polity poses many challenging questions to comparative politics andContinue reading “The State of EU Foreign Policy Scholarship”

The Myth of Exceptional Europe: The Failure of EU Foreign Policy

The notion of the European Union being an exceptional international actor is well established in the literature and dates from the very inception of ‘Europe’ as being a continental peace project. In today’s literature, while a number of variations on the theme exist, the dominant model is that of the Union as a ‘normative power’.Continue reading “The Myth of Exceptional Europe: The Failure of EU Foreign Policy”