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National and EuropeanForeign Policies: TowardsEuropeanizationRoy H. Ginsberg aa Skidmore College

Available online: 16 Apr 2012

To cite this article: Roy H. Ginsberg (2012): National and European Foreign Policies:Towards Europeanization, West European Politics, 35:3, 697-698

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2012.666428

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theory. The contributions here are more heterogeneous than in the first part:different case studies and specific conceptual frames based on classic sociologistssuch as Weber, Durkheim and Bourdieu aim at developing a new interpretation ofclassical research objects. The authors show the black holes and the questions thatremain to be analysed by sociological approaches to European integration: studies ofEuropean policies should be more historically grounded whilst taking existing powerstructures extremely seriously. This part gives the impression that mainstreampolitical science already did a great job in explaining European integration, but thatthere are still other interpretations out there that need to be taken into account. Thisendeavour is particularly convincing when the authors insist on the influence of thespecific forms of actor networks in Brussels and Strasbourg, or that of cognitivefields or frames on actors’ rationality and interests.

Although it is not entirely clear in all chapters what precisely sociologicalapproaches add to existing political science approaches, the excellent introductionand a number of extremely well framed chapters are convincing when pleading thecause for a distinct approach in the study of the emerging European society. Thevolume is an inspiring read and should be compulsory for everyone interested inEuropean integration.

Sabine SauruggerInstitut d’etudes politiques de Grenoble

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2012.666427

National and European Foreign Policies: Towards Europeanization

Edited by Reuben Wong and Christopher HillRoutledge, London, 2011, 304 pp., £85.00, ISBN 9780415610841 (hbk)

European Union foreign policy – the existence of it – is mystifying. How can a groupof states have common foreign policies when such policies are the preserve of states?How do states and their collective bodies influence each other? What are the causesand effects of – what drives and brakes – EU foreign policy-making? Hill andWong – professor and student, now colleagues – offer responses with an impressiveassemblage of analysts to evaluate 10 member states’ foreign policies in relation tothe EU foreign policy system. Their core conceptual concern is ‘foreign policyEuropeanization’ – a nonlinear process by which national foreign policies influenceand are influenced by EU foreign policy.

The editors find that all national foreign policies have been Europeanised tovarying degrees. None is resistant to the influences of common processes/procedures.None discards the influence of shared values. At times, national foreign policies are‘uploaded’ to the EU where national interests affect collective policy choices; at othertimes, EU foreign policies are ‘downloaded’ to the national level where EU interestsaffect national policy choices. ‘Crossloading’ occurs as domestic and internationalphenomena/actors influence foreign policy decisions in ways more horizontal thanvertical.

The volume demonstrates more convergence and coordination of national foreignpolicies than is generally recognised, but the range of Europeanisation varies bystate. For some, foreign policy Europeanisation is primarily about process andinstrument; for others, it is about joint action. The authors conclude that, in acircular relationship between national and EU foreign policy preferences, states reactindividually to propositions discussed collectively. Mutations in national positionsoccur that – in the absence of the EU context – would not likely have occurred. Thevolume focuses on overall patterns of convergence using counterfactual reasoning.

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On methodology – which countries to showcase is an editorial choice, but theomission of Sweden and the Netherlands is stark given their contributions to EUcrisis management operations/capabilities. The 10 well-executed country studies aredescriptive essays structured to respond to the central question: to what extent doesEuropeanisation of national foreign policies result in uploading preferences to and/or downloading preferences from the EU level? Country studies are not case studiessince they do not feature in-depth analyses of single instances of Europeanisation.However, the volume’s strength rests on the suggested template for evaluatingEuropeanisation by selective countries. Others can build on the template to probemore deeply. Such analysis would help explain why Germany opposed a UN requestfor EU deployment of a military crisis management operation to the DRC forhumanitarian purposes in 2006 (uploading), but then consented, over its initialobjections, to EU deployment of a similar operation to Chad in 2008–2009(downloading).

On conceptualisation – this reviewer applauds the application of the concept ofEuropeanisation to EU foreign policy studies because it identifies a nuancedprocess of change that is not blinded or straightjacketed by neofunctional andintergovernmental perspectives. That said, there could have been more precision upfront about the concept as a cause and effect of EU foreign policy action. Theeditors begin by introducing Europeanisation as a dependent variable, aphenomenon that is affected by or contingent on the ideas of European integrationbroadly and directives emanating from EU and national actors specifically. It isclear that by the end of the book the editors conclude that Europeanisation is also(a) an independent variable with the EU foreign policy system imposing significantconstraints on member states’ foreign policy calculations/orientations – andoffering useful opportunities; and (b) an intervening variable in that otherinternational and domestic factors affect national foreign policies via EU mediationor through outside expectations that member states will behave in a European way.Europeanisation is seen as a circular process of cause, effect, and process. Althoughit lacks parsimony in its explanatory reach – it is silent on the endgame of theprocess – Europeanisation offers an objective analytical framework revealing newinsights into the interplay among domestic, national, European, and internationalphenomena.

On theory – this volume implicitly provides important insights into (a) the values,norms, identities, and geocultural and shared experiences of national and EU foreignpolicy principals – squarely a social constructivist perspective; and (b) the interplaybetween member state principals and EU agents – squarely a rational choiceinstitutionalist perspective. Indeed, the volume is peppered with examples of howprincipals rationally seek to reduce their foreign policy transaction costs by takingjoint actions implemented by EU agents. Since Europeanisation is such a centralconcern of constructivist and institutionalist perspectives and literatures, thecontributors should have brought theory more plainly into focus.

In demonstrating the need to evaluate Europeanisation from the perspective ofnon-EU actors, this volume will stimulate new scholarship on Europeanisation in itsglobal manifestations. The findings challenge the Kagans, Mearsheimers, Kupchans,and other critics of the EU as an international actor. The sceptics have to squaretheir assumptions with the fact that EU foreign policy exists, in all its unevenness,and does so because it is in the interests of its member states. Building on and fillinggaps in previous works on Europeanisation, this volume is a must-read as it takes itsplace in the canon on EU foreign policy studies.

Roy H. GinsbergSkidmore College

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2012.666428

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