THEORIZING EUROPEAN UNION FOREIGN POLICY MAKING

Abstract

This article is an attempt to theorize foreign policymaking in the European Union. Departing from the structural theories of neo realism and neo liberalism this paper while not dismissing the importance of structural theories of neo realism and neoliberalism and their emphasis on the international system, this paper locates explanation of EU foreign policy making from the lenses of an interplay of decision making, domestic factors, actor preferences, and international settings. The rationale of this exercise is to explain that the complexity and uniqueness of EU integration makes foreign policy making an intricate exercise that requires adaption and synthesis of IR theories and approaches.