IPW Lecture now online: “Increasingly illiberal and populist politics in Europe: (How) does it matter for European foreign policy cooperation?”

Online talk on 2 June 2021
Moderation: Ivan Josipovic (IPW | University of Vienna)

Abstract: European Union foreign policy has always been dependent on EU member states ́ support. More profoundly, the Common Foreign and Security Policy was established to manage differences among EU member states, with increased institutional support (e.g. High Representative and European External Action Service) and socialisation in the Council. For the past two years, however, contestation within the EU foreign policy system is said to have reached a new quality, with increasing illiberal, sometimes right-wing and definitely populist politics across Europe in various policy fields impacting on consensus-required foreign policy activities.
This presentation builds on ongoing research that takes stock of 50 years of European foreign policy cooperation. We will review trends of Europeanisation, re-nationalisation and institutionalisation in light of the increased EU ambition to remain relevant amid contending forces in world politics.

An event within the IPW Lectures, an international lecture series of the Department for Political Science, University of Vienna.

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Member States in EU foreign and security policy

* * * now online * * * LEGOF policy brief * * *

This policy brief reviews the effects of the institutional adjustments in EU foreign policy as instigated by the Lisbon Treaty. It scrutinises the implications of these reforms for the distribution of power between member states and EU actors involved. Our analysis identifies two conflicting trends: on the one hand, an increased influence for EU institutions, with the notable exception of the Political and Security Committee whose position as strategic foreign policy linchpin is no longer certain. On the other, a partial weakening of the commitment of at least some member states to EU foreign policy cooperation.

Access: https://www.sv.uio.no/arena/english/research/publications/arena-policy-briefs/2021/ten-years-after-lisbon.html?fbclid=IwAR03msuKIAQ4WlrP33xgtIbb-93a68b-4K9J8W3dpKAyn6_G0m1JPjMYEDE

The EU’s Political and Security Committee: Still in the shadows but no longer governing?

LSE EUROPP Blogpost in European Politics and Policy Series to synthesize the results of the joint research with Nick Wright about the changing interaction of EU member states in EU foreign and security policy

The EU’s Political and Security Committee: Still in the shadows but no longer governing?

The Future of Diplomacy in Europe – HJD podcast

The Hague Journal of Diplomacy Podcast

Episode 9: Heidi Maurer and Sophie Vériter on the Future of Diplomacy in Europe

In this episdoe, Sophie (Leiden University) and I talked about our recent contributions to the special issue “Diplomacy and COVID-19” in the Hague Journal of Diplomacy. We explain why you should read our articles, we synthesize our main points, and what´s ahead for further research.

Here are the publications that we relate to

Vériter, S. L., Bjola, C., & Koops, J. A. (2020). Tackling COVID-19 Disinformation: Internal and External Challenges for the European Union, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 15(4), 569-582. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/1871191X-BJA10046

Maurer, H., & Wright, N. (2020). A New Paradigm for EU Diplomacy? EU Council Negotiations in a Time of Physical Restrictions, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 15(4), 556-568. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/1871191X-BJA10039

Encompass opinion: The EU’s Political and Security Committee: still in the shadows but no longer governing?

In this Encompass opinion piece Nick Wright and I synthesize our research findings about the impact about the institutional Lisbon Treaty changes on the involvment of member states in European foreign policy-making.

see https://encompass-europe.com/comment/the-eus-political-and-security-committee-still-in-the-shadows-but-no-longer-governing

Reflecting on our reserach which has just been published: Maurer H., & Wright, N. (2020). Still governing in the shadows? Member states and the Political & Security Committee in the post‐Lisbon EU foreign policy architecture. Journal of Common Market Studies (early view): https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13134

new article: New Paradigm for EU Diplomacy? EU Council Negotiations in a Time of Physical Restrictions

Now online in OPEN ACCESS:

Maurer, H., & Wright, N. (2020). A New Paradigm for EU Diplomacy? EU Council Negotiations in a Time of Physical Restrictions. The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 15(4), 556-568. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/1871191X-BJA10039

Summary

Can diplomacy work without physical presence? International relations scholars consider the European Union (EU) the most institutionalised case of international co-operation amongst sovereign states, with the highest density of repeated diplomatic exchange. In a year, the Council of Ministers hosts on average 143 ministerial and 200 ambassadorial meetings, along with hundreds of working group meetings. These intense diplomatic interactions came to an abrupt halt in mid-March 2020, when the spread of COVID-19 forced the Council to approve — in a manner unprecedented in European integration history — the temporary derogation from its rules of procedures to allow votes in written form, preceded by informal videoconferences between ministers or ambassadors. This argumentative essay reflects on how we can use these extraordinary months of intra-European diplomacy to assess the viability of virtual diplomacy in the EU context and what lessons it provides as we seek more sustainable means of international engagement.

Keywords: European Union (EU) diplomacy; Council of the European Union; COVID-19; e-diplomacy; virtual diplomacy; technology; communication; governance