Foreign Policy Analysis and the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy - Understanding the Formal and Informal Processes

The EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) has witnessed important institutional developments since its creation in the 1991 Maastricht Treaty. These developments have led to increased coherence and visibility of the CFSP in certain regions of the world. Contrary to the belief that the CFSP is essentially conducted according to an intergovernmental decision-making process, the thesis shows how the creation of the post of the High Representative has led to a new system of governance in the field, with the Secretariat General of the Council of the EU at its core and the European Commission in a secondary but nevertheless crucial role. This second pillar system of governance is crucial in encouraging member-states to formulate and implement common positions. However, the dissertation also emphasizes the crucial role played by EU member-states in CFSP, as they are still the actors who need to initiate the process of "devolution" to the High Representative. In addition, the dissertation singles out the crucial role played by the United States in the second pillar, especially important when military issues are part of the process. The empirical analysis shows that when the issue is not of contention for the transatlantic relation, then the EU seems to act in a more unified way. To explain this new system of governance, the thesis uses foreign policy analysis (FPA) as the theoretical framework. It shows how this approach can be adapted from its state-centric focus to the study of the EU, by incorporating elements of the EU institutionalism literature in order to better grasp the specifics of the EU institutions