The European Union's External Policy I

Abstract

Is the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy informed by hard or soft power considerations? How is EU external conduct perceived by third country diplomats? This panel will explore and assess the EU’s external policies in Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean at a critical juncture for the Union’s external relations. As we gradually witness the emancipation of Europe in the foreign and security policy realm, it is crucial to shed light on EU external policy nuances and evaluate the degree to which “hard” power calculations and “soft” power attributes have already been fused into the Union’s contemporary external conduct. It is equally important, moreover, to ascertain the perceptions of the EU as an international actor maintained by third country diplomats, in an effort to understand whether the Union’s self-conception is aligned with the images held by third parties. As the EU strives to become a comprehensive global actor in the foreign and security policy domain, it is vital to reflect on the factors shaping its international conduct and at the same time possess a robust understanding of how EU external relations activities are perceived by other actors across the globe.