This edited volume sets out to explore the paradox that the European Union (EU) produces policies with strategic qualities, but lacks the institutions and concepts to engage in strategic reasoning and action proper.

The book has a two-fold agenda, exploring current EU external policies that are, or seem to be, linked to strategic priorities, and also studying the concept of strategy in the particular context of EU decision- and policymaking.

The volume first examines the character of the Union as a strategic actor at this stage of its development. It then explores the...