A Mere US Presence or a Real US Influence on the EU’s Reaching of a Common Policy in the CFSP Field?

I would like to take a realist perspective on the study of EU states’ cooperation, and examine the role of the United States in the CFSP decision-making process from 1992 until 2003. Research has been carried out on the influence of the US in the EU’s economic foreign policy and in the EU’s security foreign policy. However, no research has been conducted on the presence or influence of the US on the EU’s political foreign policy vis-à-vis third states in the second pillar decision-making process. The EU seems to be in permanent contact with the US, and has recently had to coordinate its action with that of the US in the Balkans. Do the Member States counterbalance the US or do they bandwaggon behind the US ? As regards the importance of an external hegemon, the realist theory appears to be relevant in explaining EU cooperation. In this paper, I will first examine realist assumptions on the role of the US in the EU’s CFSP’s decision-making process. I will then study whether the EU always acts in the same way as the US acts, when it takes CFSP common policies vis-à-vis third countries. I will finally evaluate the relevance and insufficiencies of the realist theory to explain US influence on the reaching of CFSP common policies. NB: My participation is contingent on funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]