This interdisciplinary book is structured in three parts: The first part contains a number of contributions which focus on institutions, policy frameworks and the history of the EU's common foreign and security policy. The second part aims at studying the EU's external relations with important international institutions and organisations as well as major regional powers and states. The final part reassembles articles which address key issues of the Union's external activities and analyze specific foreign policy areas in detail.

Prof. Dr. Sven Bernhard Gareis is professor at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch- Partenkirchen, Germany. Dr. Gunther Hauser is a senior researcher and lecturer at the National Defense Academy, Vienna, Austria. Prof. Dr. Franz Kernic is professor at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.