AN EMERGING DIPLOMATIC SYSTEM FOR THE EU? FRAMEWORKS AND ISSUES

This paper addresses the general problems encountered in an analysis of EU diplomacy, and specifically the emergence of the EU ‘diplomatic system’. The first part of the paper reviews the literature on the changing nature of diplomacy, identifying issues relating to boundaries, capacity and legitimacy and paying particular attention to multi-level and multi-stakeholder diplomacy. This review then forms the foundation for consideration of the EU as a ‘diplomatic system’, focusing on two key aspects. The first of these concerns the nature of the diplomatic milieu that has developed and is developing in the EU. The second concerns three areas of diplomatic practice: first, the institutional development of EU diplomacy; second, the conduct of strategic diplomacy aimed at positioning the EU in the global arena; third, the development of structural diplomacy which has led to EU engagement in peace-building and state-building. The conclusions review the prospects for the EU’s diplomatic system after the Lisbon Treaty, and identify potential future challenges or opportunities in the world arena. Evaluating the character and role of diplomacy in a transformational world order presents a number of interrelated issues. Not the least of these is the continued centrality of its forms an