International Relations and the European Union

Christopher Hill is Patrick Sheehy Professor at the Centre of International Studies, University of Cambridge.


Michael Smith is Professor of European Politics at the University of Warwick.


Sophie Vanhoonacker is Jean Monnet Professor at Maastricht University.

International Relations and the European Union takes a unique approach by incorporating the study of the EU's world role into the wider field of international relations. As the most comprehensive introduction to the EU's international relations written by leading experts in the field, it is the key text for anyone wishing to understand the EU's role in the contemporary world.

Beginning with an examination of theoretical frameworks and approaches, the book goes on to address the institutions and processes that surround the EU's international relations. Key policy areas, such as security and trade, are outlined in detail, alongside the EU's relations with specific countries, including the United States, China, India, and Russia.

Updates for the third edition include expanded discussions of three key perspectives to provide a rounded picture of the EU's place in the international system: as a sub-system of international relations, as part of the process of international relations, and as a power in its own right.

The most comprehensive introduction to the EU's role in the international system, written by a team of international experts, and incorporating the study of the EU's world role into the wider field of international relations, this book is the key text for anyone wishing to understand the EU's external relations.

PART ONE: FRAMEWORKS; 1 Christopher Hill, Michael Smith, and Sophie Vanhoonacker: International Relations and the EU: Themes and Issues; 2 Sophie Vanhoonacker: The EU as a system of IR; 3 Geoffrey Edwards: The EU as part of the process of IR; 4 Filippo Andreatta: The EU as a Power; PART TWO: INSTITUTIONS AND PROCESSES; 5 Karolina Pomorska and Sophie Vanhoonacker: Policy-making in EU external relations; 6 Carmen Gebhard: Coherence; 7 Reuben Wong: The role of member states; 8 Michael E. Smith: Implementation: making the EU's international relations work; 9 Christopher Lord: Legitimacy and Democracy; PART THREE: ACTIVITIES AND IMPACT; 10 Sophie Meunier and Kalypso Nicolaidis: The EU as a Trade Power; 11 Amy Verdun: The EU and the Global Political Economy; 12 John Vogler: The Challenge of the Environment, Energy, and Climate Change; 13 Maurizio Carbone: The EU and the Developing World; 14 Karen Smith: Enlargement, the Neighbouhood, and European Order; 15 Joylon Howorth: The EU's Security and Defence Policy; 16 Sarah Wolff: The External Dimension of the EU's Internal Security; 17 Michael Smith and Rebecca Steffenson: The EU and the United States; 18 Stephan Keukeleire and Tom De Bruyn: The EU and Emerging Powers; 19 Helene Sjursen: The EU's Principles in World Politics; 20 Christopher Hill, Michael Smith and Sophie Vanhoonacker: Acting for Europe: The EU's Role in International Relations