EU Foreign Policy and IR Theories - Knud Erik Jørgensen | 2024 Episode 16

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

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