| Review of: | The European Union's Roles in International Politics: Concepts and Analysis by O. Elgström, M. Smith |
|---|---|
| Reviewed By: | Mary Farrell |
| Reviewed in: | Journal of Common Market Studies |
| Date accepted online: | 02/11/2007 |
| Published in print: | Volume 45, Issue 03, Pages 745-769 |
Book Reviews
The puzzle of the European Union in international politics is once more under scrutiny in this volume, as the contributors seek to explain how the EU interacts with the other actors (mainly sovereign states, with a sprinkling of international organizations) in the international system. Well-known for its self-declared intent to export EU values, and even more widely recognized as a global economic power, the question of how far the European Union can exercise influence, change behaviour and shape outcomes remains tantalizingly unanswered. It is more difficult to provide answers about the EU's capacity in international politics, the impact of European policies on global actors and international regulatory systems, or the effectiveness of human rights and democracy promotion across the globe than it is to judge the impact of internal integration, or indeed external economic integration. In a well-edited and largely coherent set of contributions, this volume attempts to provide an analytical framework to study the roles of the European Union, ranging across the following dimensions: role conception (self-image and others' image); origins of roles (strategy design, choice, contingency or incrementalism); role institutionalization; role performance (how a role is played); role impact (desired effects, effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy). Taking account of the extent to which context and agency determine roles, the assumption is that obligations and commitments go beyond considerations of maximizing material interests, while foreign policy is purposeful and shaped by institutions and structures.
Though the contributions largely follow the editorial frame of reference, there is some variety in the individual approaches and a degree of scepticism towards the impact and effectiveness of the EU role in certain issue areas. Jørgensen argues that the EU has long pursued a differentiated multilateralism, a conclusion that is supported, if somewhat indirectly, by the other chapters. Kerremans examines the European Commission's risk-minimizing strategy to manage the Doha Development Agenda by getting the WTO members to accept the principle of a linkage between agriculture and other issues (the aim being to eventually negotiate a deal to compensate the EU losers); Young suggests that how the EU role in trade policy was originally conceived had a direct impact upon the subsequent role performance and role impact - Member States accepted the EU role in the WTO, and there was a high degree of delegation to the European Commission, while Member States tended not to challenge each other's trade policy preferences unless there were countervailing interests. In the area of human rights and democracy promotion (Sedelmeier), the export of values to the Mediterranean (Panebianco), or policies towards Burma, Cuba and Zimbabwe, the impact and effectiveness of the EU role is less noteworthy, and the deliberate attempt to create consensus about values and behaviour among diverse communities is dogged by the lack of conviction both at home and abroad. A lack of coherence between self-image and behaviour can go part of the way to explain why the expansion of values is not an EU crusade (Lucarelli), though Manners urges a greater focus upon the symbolic manifestation of the EU's international identity. Sjursen develops the case for communicative rationality in the selection and promotion of norms, and offers two alternatives to the civilian/normative role: EU foreign policy as value-based or rights-based, reflecting a more communitarian and a liberal conception.
The volume is an informative and thought-provoking contribution to the academic literature, and provides much scope for debate across the relevant policy communities, though, as the editors themselves acknowledge in the conclusion, there remain many unanswered questions concerning the impact of the EU's role on international activities and indeed uncertainties about the relationship between the internal generation of role conceptions and their pursuit in institutional and political arenas.