This volume provides a comprehensive, theoretically grounded analysis of the European Union’s external relations. It draws on international relations theory, European integration studies, and foreign policy analysis to examine the EU’s identity, policy capabilities, and the institutional mechanisms that underpin its external actions. The book covers a wide range of policy areas, including trade and development, security and defense, democracy and human rights promotion, migration, and environmental policy. Contributors assess the development and effectiveness of the EU’s principal policy instruments, the interplay between EU institutions and member states, and the ongoing debate over the EU’s nature as a civilian, normative, or military power.

The volume also investigates the EU’s bilateral and multilateral relationships with key global actors and regions, such as the United States, Russia, China, and former colonies, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in institutionalizing these ties. By critically reflecting on both traditional and emerging theories, the book addresses the persistent “capability-expectations gap” in EU foreign policy and evaluates the prospects for the EU to emerge as a true global superpower.

Designed as both a scholarly reference and a textbook, this volume is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the theoretical and institutional dynamics that shape the EU’s external relations and its place in the global power structure.