Explaining the European Union's Foreign Policy
A Practice Theory of Translocal Action

Explains why the EU interacts and intervenes beyond its borders, using case studies to present a theory of practice-driven action.

Magnus Ekengren (Author)

9781108422307, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 October 2018

246 pages, 1 b/w illus. 2 tables
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.7 cm, 0.48 kg

'Ekengren's deft application of Bourdieusian practice theory to EU agency is a timely remedy for the famously undertheorized field of European studies.' Iver B. Neumann, author of At Home with the Diplomats

The European Union was created for the purpose of encouraging peace on the continent, but today is increasingly active globally in areas such as diplomacy, development, humanitarian and consular aid, and civilian and military crisis management. Yet we know little about the forces that drive the Union to interact, influence and intervene outside its borders. This book offers a new theoretical perspective that explains how EU collective action is driven by practice, such as diplomatic routines and crisis management procedures. Using global case studies, Ekengren shows how the EU's representatives perform these routines, or transnational practices, across particular 'locales' around the globe, from Kosovo to Haiti. By connecting transnational and local forces in the explanation of EU foreign policy action, he presents an outline of a practice theory of translocal action. Scholars, policymakers and journalists will find this theoretically ground breaking book essential in understanding the European Union's foreign policy.

1. Explaining EU foreign policy action: turning to practice
2. Outline of a theory of translocal EU foreign policy action
3. The EU's translocal actions in Kosovo 1999
4. The EU's translocal actions in the Haitian disaster 2010
5. Toward a theory of the translocal recognition cycle
Appendix I: my research practice over time
Appendix II: list of interviewees
Appendix III: interview guidelines for Haiti study.

Subject Areas: Peacekeeping operations [JWLP], Diplomacy [JPSD], Political science & theory [JPA], Aid & relief programmes [JKSR]