EU Foreign Policy and IR Theory — Knud Erik Jørgensen

25. 7. 2024

This episode of The IR thinker examines the European Union’s foreign policy through the lens of international relations theory with Professor Knud Erik Jørgensen, exploring the theoretical bases of EU multilateralism, the effects of reduced globalisation and how crises in multilateralism can be understood and managed conceptually. The conversation discusses the role of the European External Action Service, tensions between value based and interest based approaches, and current debates on strategic autonomy, negotiation practices and the ideological narratives that shape EU research.

Knud Erik Jørgensen

Knud Erik Jørgensen is Professor Emeritus of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University. His research focuses on European foreign policy and international relations theory, including the evolution of the European External Action Service and EU diplomacy in a changing global environment. He has written widely on IR theoretical traditions and on how policy paradigms inform the formulation of foreign policy.

Publications:

War and Peace in European Studies: a Zeitenwende?

Realist theories in search of realists: The failure in Europe to advance realist theory

International Relations Theory: A New Introduction

Content

00:00 - Introduction
01:58 - Theoretical Foundations of EU Foreign Policy
07:00 - EU Multilateralism in the Context of IR Theory
12:27 - Impact of Reduced Globalisation on EU Multilateralism
16:14 - Addressing Multilateralism Crises in the EU through IR Theory
21:07 - The Role of the European External Action Service: Value-Based vs Interest-Based Approaches
38:58 - Strategic Autonomy of the EU and its Theoretical Underpinnings
46:23 - Contemporary Debates on EU Strategic Autonomy
50:27 - EU Approaches to International Negotiations
57:15 - Navigating and Resisting Ideological Narratives in EU Research