Synopses & Reviews
European Union Delegations are an integral part of the EU External Action Service (EEAS) and have constituted the official diplomatic representation of the European Union to countries outside of the EU since the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. However, despite these steps towards further political integration, the Treaty of Lisbon has been unable to streamline diplomacy across third states and the EEAS hence remains a diplomatic service of different speeds.
This study considers why the EU centralizes diplomacy more easily in some third countries rather than in others, and offers a systematic answer to this question by analysing the EU Delegations both across time and space, notably by developing a quantitative tool, the EU Diplomacy Centralization Index.
The results show that whilst the EU is adept at centralizing diplomacy in developing countries and - quite surprisingly - in countries of strategic/security importance, it encounters difficulties in doing this with major economic partners.
Synopsis
This first comprehensive study of the EU's diplomatic representation in the world, the EEAS, this book seeks to understand why it has failed to formulate a centralised policy towards external states. It also analyses why the EEAS has more success in centralising diplomatic structures in developing countries than with some economic partners.
About the Author
Frauke Austermann (PhD Freie Universität Berlin) is an Assistant Professor of International Affairs at the Shanghai Campus of ESSCA School of Management, LUNAM University, France.
Table of Contents
1.Introduction: European Diplomacy after Lisbon - Different Speeds Instead of One Voice
2.Centralization of European Diplomacy in Theory
3.Diplomatic Representation of the EU over Time
4.Analyzing the Patterns of European Diplomacy Centralization
5.Measuring European Diplomacy Centralization
6.Political Giant, Economic Power, Normative Dwarf: European Diplomacy Centralization across the Globe
7.Conclusion: A Diplomatic Service of Different Speeds