What role, if any, does the foreign ministry perform in contemporary world politics? Is the argument that it is in a state of terminal decline accurate or rooted in only partial understandings of its changing character? Foreign Ministries in the European Union explores this theme in the context of the EU where foreign ministry has played a key role in the development of integration but where its role is increasingly questioned. The contributors examine the foreign ministry in thirteen member states and draw conclusions that challenge some conventional wisdoms.

'This is an indispensable book for the material it provides on both foreign ministries and national foreign policies. Most of the country-studies contain statistical details on the extent of national diplomatic services and the number of missions - data surprisingly difficult to put one's hands on quickly.' - Christopher Hill, London School of Economics and Political Science, International Affairs

Autorentext
DAVID ALLEN Senior Lecturer in European Studies, Loughborough University, UK ESKO ANTOLA Jean Monnet Chair, European Studies, University of Turku, Finland RIK COOLSAET Professor of International Relations, University of Ghent, Belgium JOSE CORREIA Professor of International Relations, Lusiada University, Lisbon MAGNUS EKENGREN Senior Lecturer, Swedish National Defence College, Sweden DUCO HELLEMA Professor in History of International Relations, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands KNUD ERIK JØRGENSEN Senior Lecturer in Political Science, University of Aarhus, Denmark IGNACIO MOLINA Lecturer in Political Science, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain MELANIE MORISSE-SCHILBACH Research Fellow, Dresden University of Technology, Germany HANSPETER NEUHOLD Head of the Institute for International Law and International Relations, University of Vienna, Austria ELFRIEDE REGELSBERGER Research Fellow, Institut fur Europaische Politik, Bonn, Germany FERNANDO RODRIGO Professor of International Relations, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain BENGT SUNDELIUS Professor of Government, Upsala University, Sweden BEN TONRA Deputy Director, Dublin European Institute, University College Dublin, Republic of Ireland ANN-SFIE VOET Research Fellow, Department of Political Science, University of Ghent, Belgium MARIO ZUCCONI Professor of International Relations, Centre for the Study of International Politics, Rome, Italy

Inhalt
List of Tables and Figures Contributors Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction: Gatekeepers and Boundary Spanners: Thinking about Foreign Ministries in the European Union; B.Hocking The Evolving Role of Foreign Ministries in the European Union: The Conduct of European Affairs; D.Spence Austria; H.Neuhold Belgium; R.Coolsae t and A.Voet Denmark; K.E.Jørgensen Finland; E .Antola France; M.Morisse-Schilbach Germany; E.Regelsberger United Kingdom; D.Allen Ireland; B.Tonra Italy; M.Zucconi Netherlands; D.Hellema Portugal; J.Correia Spain; I.Molina and F.Rodrigo Sweden; B.Sundelius and M.Ekengren Conclusion; B.Hocking and D.Spence