Europe’s International Relations: New Challenges, New Practices, New Ideas?

The EU foreign policy system has come under intense pressure and this presents scholars with opportunities and challenges. The Euro-crisis, threats in the neighbourhood and fragmented leadership – to mention but a few – not only challenge the EU traditional foreign policy toolkit, but also Europe’s international stance more broadly. At the same time, however, EU foreign policy has been recognized as a decisive factor in, for example, the facilitation of the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia in 2013 or, more recently, the Iran nuclear deal in 2015. In response to this complex environment, several of European institutional practices and foreign policy instruments are currently under revision. This provides scholars of European foreign policy and external governance with the opportunity to cast new light on empirical developments and theoretical arguments. Old issues remain, such as how to ensure coherence, especially across different arenas of foreign relations (including e.g. development, migration and foreign and security policy). Moreover, newer analytical puzzles emerge and demand attention. These include the role of practices and narratives, the EU’s effectiveness in international politics and the global economy, as well as the normative aspects of European external action. This section invites panels and papers to consider these issues, from a variety of disciplines, including international political economy, security studies, migration studies, comparative politics, as well as from the whole range of theoretical perspectives.