The EC/EU: a World Security Actor?

Is the European Union an autonomous actor in world politics? Can it be a normative power? What does “effective multilateralism” mean for the Union? Should the European Union have access to the use of military force? This book brings together analyses of the external policies of the European Union over the fifty years since the Rome Treaties were signed in 1957. Historians, political scientists, economists, as well as experts on aid, development, legal and security issues put different dimensions of its external policies under the microscope. They show that the range and variety of Union activity has grown enormously over time. Now, the task is to meet the rising expectations of its citizens about the Union’s role in a rapidly changing and globalising world. The contributors show that, despite great progress, worrying ambiguities and serious challenges still exist for the Union and its member states in world politics.

Edited by Anna Deighton and Gérard Bossuat