This book reviews a variety of approaches to the study of the European Union’s foreign policy. Much analysis of EU foreign policy contains theoretical assumptions about the nature of the EU and its member states, their inter-relationships, the international system in which they operate and the nature of European integration. Such assumptions, when not discussed openly, often curtail debate. This book opens up this field of enquiry so students, observers and analysts of EU foreign policy can review a range of tools and theoretical templates from which the development and the trajectory of the EU’s foreign policy can be studied.

Situated at the interface between European studies and international relations, the book outlines how the EU relates to the rest of the world, explaining its effort towards creating a credible, effective and principled foreign, security and defence policy.