"European Community foreign policy actions in the 1980s"

Ginsberg, Roy H. (1991) "European Community foreign policy actions in the 1980s". In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 1991 (2nd), May 22-24, 1991, pages 26, Fairfax, Virginia.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to show-through empirical analysis-the widening scope of European Community (EC) foreign policy actions and to explain the causes of those actions. The premium is placed on development and interpretation of macropolitical data to gauge historical trends rather than on case study. These data show that the EC became an active foreign policy player many years before the events of 1989-90 in Eastern and Central Europe brought the world's attention to the leading position of the EC in the geometry of a post-cold war international system….Two central concepts are introduced in the paper: foreign policy action and politics of scale. An EC foreign policy action is a specific, conscious, goal-oriented undertaking putting forth a unified membership position toward nonmembers. international bodies, and international events and issues (Ginsberg, 1989, p. 2). Joint foreign policy activity refers to the process by which the EC and its members coordinate and implement joint civilian foreign policy actions to reap benefits from politics of scale. Politics of scale refers to the benefits of collective over individual action in the conduct of foreign policy, enabling members to conduct joint foreign policy actions at lower costs and risks than when they act on their own.