This book focuses on how discourse and various narratives contribute to the construction of the European Union as a political actor, thus seeking to challenge the more established approaches to the study of the Union. It sheds light on the way discourses about the European Union are created, perpetuated and then translated into policy outcomes. Most of the contributions attempt to account for the differences that usually arise between discourse and policy practices. The methods employed range from more traditional variants of discourse analysis to other more radical versions that emphasize power, or to critical or differential reading of policy narratives and ethnography. Policy areas such as trade, enlargement, foreign policy and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) are discussed, while a particular interest is awarded to the European Parliament and the Commission. In doing so, the contributions shed light on the role discourse plays in relation to policies, institutional practices, and value representations at the European level. Moreover, the authors analyse the different actors and structures that create and perpetuate discourses within the EU, highlighting new insights that a focus on discourse can bring to the field of European Union studies. This book was published as a special issue of Perspectives on European Politics and Society.

The study of EU foreign policy has devoted over the last years great emphasis to the conceptualization of the role of the Union as an international actor. This paper critically analyzes two overarching narratives - realist and interpretivist - about the role of the Union as an international actor employing insights from critical theory. By such narratives, it is meant those perspectives that have been developed in scholarship and have sought to answer questions about how the EU behaves in the international system and how it should behave. The method of critical reading implies uncovering the premises on which the international role of the EU was constructed within the two narratives, then underscoring their consequences and juxtaposing them to their founding principles. This endeavor highlights the purpose behind the different types of foreign policy constructed and promoted by the two narratives. Simultaneously, the study enquires into the shared commitment between the two narratives for the creation of a common foreign and security policy for the EU.