The book analyses the foreign policies of EU Mediterranean states and applicants in the context of wider EU-Mediterranean relations. It provides a unique comparative analysis of current members and applicant Mediterranean states in the 1990s at a time when EU processes of enlargement and integration raise fundamental needs to define interests of the EU in its Southern and Eastern relationships.

National and European Foreign Policy explores the processes of interaction between the national and the European levels in foreign policy making in European Union states. The volume also assesses the mutual influence which the Member States exert on each other, independent of the EU institutions, thus tracing the extent to which Member State foreign policies are being Europeanized into more convergent, coordinated policies. With chapters examining France, Germany, Italy, UK, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Finland, Poland and Slovenia, the overarching questions the volume addresses centre on the nature of the relationship between the foreign policies of the Member States and ‘European’ foreign policy. Engaging with ‘Europeanization’ with theoretical rigour, the contributors to this volume examine the EU’s impact on the foreign policies of Member States old and new, the impact of the Member States on the EU’s external relations, and the influence of the Member States on each other’s foreign policies. Providing interesting detail on changes in foreign policy thinking and national policies using the concept of Europeanization, National and European Foreign Policy will be of interest to students and scholars of European politics and policy formation, foreign policy and International Relations.

This comparative analysis of the foreign policies of European Union member states includes comprehensive coverage of the post-Maastricht period and the three newest members of the EU. In the only comparative study of its kind since 1976, the book analyzes the dual impact of the Maastricht Treaty on the European Union, and the post-Cold War environment on the foreign policy processes of the EU’s member states. The book argues for a new approach to the foreign policy analysis of EU states that recognizes the fundamental changes that membership brings after the Cold War, but also acknowledges the diverse role of policies which states seek to retain or advance as being “special.”

The Mediterranean space, defined by a major sea, a large number of littoral countries and to some extent their hinterlands, is at the same time an interface between Europe, Africa and Asia. This brings complex challenges in terms of achieving peace and stability. Recently it has received intense international attention through the internal destructiveness and spill-over from conflicts, primarily those waged in Libya, Syria and, more remotely, Iraq. This Handbook provides an overview of the political processes that shape the Mediterranean region in the contemporary context. It explores the issues of crucial importance to Mediterranean dynamics through a series of analytical sections that guide the reader towards a comprehensive understanding of the main regional interactions and trends. The Handbook explores: the complex historical formation of the contemporary Mediterranean geopolitical perspectives issues around peace and conflict the political economy of the region the role of non-state actors and social movements societal and cultural trends. The wide range of contributions from many of the leading academic experts on the region offers not only insights into the debates and processes that structure each theme, but also key pointers for a more general understanding of how distinct political, economic, social and cultural dynamics interact across the region. It will therefore be a key resource for policy-makers and students and scholars of Mediterranean politics and international relations.

Focusing on the politics of representation and constructions of identity, the author analyses the impact of European regionalism on the Mediterranean.

What are the achievements, the limits and the failures of the EU's involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict? This book sets out to answer this question by analysing the development of European policy towards the conflict over the last forty years.

Focusing on the principal challenges facing the Euro-Mediterranean partnership since the signing of the Barcelona Declaration in November 1995, this study assesses past European policies towards the region.

Italy’s foreign policy has often been dismissed as too idiosyncratic, inconsistent and lacking ambition. This book offers new insights into the position Italy has attained in the international community in the 21st century. It explores how the country has sought to take advantage of its passage from a bipolar to a multipolar system and assesses the ways in which it has engaged internationally, its new responsibilities, and the manner in which it conducts its policies in the pursuit of its interests, whether political or commercial. It argues that although Italy is engaged internationally, there is a gap between its actions and what it actually delivers, and as long as this gap continues Italy is likely to remain a partial and unreliable foreign policy actor. Divided into three parts, this book explores: the context and processes which characterise Italy’s external action its relations with crucial countries and regions such as the US, the EU, and the BRICs its security and defence policies. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of European Politics, Foreign Policy analysis and Italian studies.

EU internal security concerns such as migration, police and judicial cooperation are today part of EU foreign policy. This book shows how those concerns dominate the EU agenda towards Mediterranean countries. Adopting a rational-choice institutionalist approach, it explores EU policy and the strategic choices made after the 2011 Arab revolts.