External Triggers and Identity Formation: Cold War Crossroads in the Evolution of European foreign policy

Hebel, Kai and Lenz, Tobias (2011) External Triggers and Identity Formation: Cold War Crossroads in the Evolution of European foreign policy. [Conference Proceedings] (Submitted)

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Abstract

This article identifies an identity/policy nexus in the literature on EC/EU foreign policy and criticizes the essentialism of existing treatments of this relationship between the internal and external planes. Using a historically grounded approach, we analyze three critical episodes in the emergence and operation of this nexus: debates about the accession of Spain and Greece to the EC, the inception of EPC and its role in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. We argue that three factors conditioned this process: external catalysts, the role of political contestation and a blend of instrumental and ideational dynamics. The inductive analysis of these factors is meant to serve as a pointer for future research and as a first step towards a theoretical model of the identity/policy nexus.

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