This ground-breaking volume provides a new perspective on the EU's foreign policy and offers a reconstruction of EU research that extends beyond narrow-minded concepts of 'power' and 'actorness'. Focusing on two intertwined research questions, it presents a more sustainable base for studying EU foreign policy:
- What is the EU's foreign policy quality in terms of 'actorness' and 'power' compared to other types of actors in international relations and global politics?
- What factors influence the EU's foreign policy performance in comparison to states and international organizations?
This guiding principle and application of a 'grounded theory' or 'heuristic case study' approach allows the book to deliver a structured comparative analysis of EU foreign policy, comparing findings across policy fields, different legal foundations and respective policy modes of governance.