Summary
Contents
Subject index
During the last two decades the study of European foreign policy has experienced remarkable growth, presumably reflecting a more significant international role of the European Union. The Union has significantly expanded its policy portfolio and though empty symbolic politics still exists, the Unions international relations have become more substantial and its foreign policy more focused. European foreign policy has become a dynamic policy area, being adapted to changing challenges and environments, such as the Arab Spring, new emerging economies/powers; the crisis of multilateralism and much more. The SAGE Handbook of European Foreign Policy, Two-Volume set, is a major reference work for Foreign Policy Programmes around the world. The Handbook is designed to be accessible to graduate and postgraduate students in a wide variety of disciplines across the humanities and social sciences. Both volumes are structured to address areas of critical concern to scholars at the cutting edge of all major dimensions of foreign policy. The volumes are composed of original chapters written specifically to the following themes: Research traditions and historical experience Theoretical perspectives EU actors State actors Societal actors The politics of European foreign policy Bilateral relations Relations with multilateral institutions Individual policies Transnational challenges The Handbook will be an essential reference for both advanced students and scholars.
Ministries of Foreign Affairs
Ministries of Foreign Affairs
Ministries of foreign affairs (MFAs) are traditionally defined as the part of the government machinery charged with the management of a state's foreign relations. As this chapter will suggest, however, this working definition has become increasingly problematic given the growing complexity surrounding the management of international policy. Challenged by fundamental changes in the nature of the international and domestic policy environments, MFAs have found their role and status within their respective bureaucratic structures questioned – a situation reinforced by enhanced resource pressures on diplomatic networks generated by the global economic crisis (Hocking, 2007; Netherlands, 2011). Consequently, the EU offers a specific perspective on a much broader set of questions focusing, first, ...
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