Theorizing the European neighbourhood policy

Despite growing scholarly interest in the EU's flagship policy towards its Eastern and Southern neighbours, serious attempts at theory-building on the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) have been largely absent from the academic debate. This book aims at contributing to fill this research gap in a three-fold manner: first and foremost it aims at theorizing the ENP as such, explaining the origins, development and effectiveness of this policy. Building on this effort, it also pursues the broader objective of addressing certain shortcomings in EU external relations theory, and even beyond, in International Relations theory. Finally, it aspires to provide new insights for European policy-makers. It is one of the first volumes to provide different theoretical perspectives on the ENP by revisiting and building bridges between mainstream and critical theories, stimulating academic and policy debates and thus setting a novel, less EU-centric research agenda. This text will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners in EU external relations, EU foreign policy, the European Neighbourhood Policy, and more broadly in European Union Politics and International Relations. --

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of illustrations -- Notes on contributors -- Foreword: the 2015 review of the European Neighbourhood Policy -- Preface -- List of abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1 Theoretical approaches to the European Neighbourhood Policy -- Part I Rationalism vs. constructivism: inside-out and outside-in -- 2 Rationalist and constructivist approaches to the European Neighbourhood Policy: a growing prevalence of interests over identity? -- 3 Rational institutionalism, constructivism or both? A spatial econometric approach to measuring the impact of incentives and socialization in the European Neighbourhood Policy -- 4 The Russian Federation's posture towards the European Neighbourhood Policy: a neoclassical realist explanation -- 5 Russia's perception of the European Neighbourhood Policy: a constructivist explanation -- Part II Beyond EU-centrism: neglected (f)actors -- 6 The role of bounded rationality in explaining the European Neighbourhood Policy: the Eastern dimension -- 7 A structural foreign policy perspective on the European Neighbourhood Policy -- 8 Empowerment of domestic stakeholders: from outcome-orientedto process-oriented Europeanization in the ENP countries -- 9 The practice of EU power relations with international organizations in the neighbourhood: imperator or primus inter pares? -- Part III The EU and the other(s): conflict or cooperation? -- 10 Between the Eastern Partnership and the Eurasian Economic Union: competing region-building projects in the 'common neighbourhood' -- 11 Turning a problem into a solution? The potential of interregionalism between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union -- 12 'The political' and the ENP: rethinking EU relations with the Eastern region