"Concepts of European foreign policy revisited: Narrowing the theoretical capability-expectations gap"

This essay provides an overview of conceptual works on European foreign policy (EFP) and explores the problems associated with conceptualizing the European Union (EU) as an international actor or "presence." It concludes with an analysis of recent moves by scholars to develop a framework for more systematic and balanced analysis of EFP that is less dependent on single explanations and normative assumptions. This essay begins with a brief review of policy developments which provides a sober backdrop to the theoretical problematique which follows. It ends on a more sanguine note about the potential for progress in conceptual thinking than would have been thought possible a short time ago