La diplomacia de la Unión Europeaun desequilibrio inestable entre el universalismo utópico y el tradicionalismo westfaliano

Résumé

The thesis investigates the diplomacy of the European Union. The theoretical departure point in Social Constructivism and Discourse Theory leads to an analytical focus on three different leves of EU diplomacy: the social structures of identities and ideas, the organization of EU diplomacy and the specific practices of the EU. To estimate the degree to which EU diplomacy constitutes something qualitatively new, it is compared to the corresponding discursive levels of two ideal types of diplomacy: Westphalian diplomacy and antidiplomacy. The empirical analysis allows for concluding that EU diplomacy is qualitatively different from hitherto existing forms of diplomacy. Furthermore, it displays key characteristics of a new ideal type diplomacy that combines an antidiplomatic social foundation with a sui generis organization and essentially Westphalian practices. EU diplomacy aims to transform the internal structures of other states, but also to institutionalise and legalise diplomatic interaction generally. The strategic objective is to lift up the principal characteristics of the European model of integration to the global level, thereby transforming the international society into a global community with a shared normative foundation and overcoming the condition of alienation among political entitites on a global scale. These are the antidiplomatic solutions of the EU to the current challenges posed by globalization, solutions that are sought realised through copying, to the greatest extent possible, the traditional practices of Westphalian diplomacy.