The EU High Representative

Beschreibung

“In this meticulous and riveting account, Helwig traces the evolution of the High Representative throughout its four holders over the decades. A must read especially as the fifth, takes office amidst unprecedented external and internal challenges.”

--Nathalie Tocci, Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali and former Special Advisor to the HRVPs Federica Mogherini and Josep Borrell

“Employing a sophisticated conceptual framework grounded in social role theory, Helwig provides a rigorous comparative analysis that fills a significant research gap. This book offers profound insights into the EU’s foreign policy leadership and actorness at a pivotal moment in both European and global politics.”

--Lisbeth Aggestam, Associate Professor at Gothenburg University and editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy Analysis

This book offers the first comprehensive analysis and comparison of all the EU High Representatives / Vice Presidents of the Commission (HRVPs) until 2024. The book explores how three incumbents with very different backgrounds, ways of working and personalities took up the challenge of formulating the EU’s answers to brewing international crises, regional instabilities, humanitarian disasters and, eventually, war. Applying role theory, the research provides deep insights into foreign policy leadership during a period when the EU needed to adapt to a rapidly changing international environment. Based on a large set of expert interviews, the book makes the case that the leadership and role performance of the HRVP matter and can have a positive impact on the EU’s international activities. As geopolitics stages a revival, future HRVPs need to engage powerful member states and key actors in Brussels to unleash the full potential of the EU’s economic, political and military weight.

Niklas Helwig is Leading Researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. He is also an Associate Professor in International Relations at Tampere University, Finland. His research focuses on EU foreign and security policy, German foreign and security policy, as well as EU-US relations.

This book offers the first comprehensive analysis and comparison of all the EU High Representatives / Vice Presidents of the Commission (HRVPs) until 2024. The book explores how three incumbents with very different backgrounds, ways of working and personalities took up the challenge of formulating the EU’s answers to brewing international crises, regional instabilities, humanitarian disasters and, eventually, war. Applying role theory, the research provides deep insights into foreign policy leadership during a period when the EU needed to adapt to a rapidly changing international environment. Based on a large set of expert interviews, the book makes the case that the leadership and role performance of the HRVP matter and can have a positive impact on the EU’s international activities. As geopolitics stages a revival, future HRVPs need to engage powerful member states and key actors in Brussels to unleash the full potential of the EU’s economic, political and military weight.

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Niklas Helwig

Themen in »The EU High Representative«

EU Foreign Policy Diplomacy Role Theory Foreign Policy Analysis European Union Politics

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“The book makes an original contribution to the literature on EU foreign and security policy. …the book provides a thoughtful exploration of a pivotal institution within the EU machinery. This book is particularly well suited for scholars and practitioners of European studies, International Relations and foreign policy analysis. It will also resonate with policy-makers and diplomats invested in the EU’s evolving role as a global actor.” (Mahmoud Javadi, International Affairs, Vol. 101 (3), 2025)

“The EU High Representative is often described as an impossible job. It is not. What is true though is that the role - still an unicum in international affairs - is heavily shaped by structure in the EU and the world, and the agency of the office holder him/herself. In this meticulous and riveting account, Helwig traces the evolution of the High Representative throughout its four holders over the decades. A must read especially as the fifth, takes office amidst unprecedented external and internal challenges” (Nathalie Tocci, Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali and former Special Advisor to EU High Representatives Federica Mogherini and Josep Borrell)

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