This book is the result of a truly collaborative project based on the synergies ofour common interest in the everyday making of European Union (EU) foreignand security policy. In the past, we have all conducted research on the innerworkings of the Brussels foreign policy machinery, and our findings havecollectively pointed to the interplay of situated, practical knowledge and norminternalization. The fact that so many of our past informants displayed aware-ness of the social dynamics of the complex institutional environment in whichthey operate spurred an interest into how such interactions are enacted in theeveryday management of contestation. The Swedish Institute of InternationalAffairs, to which we are all associated, provided a forum to compare, discussand develop our previous findings through engagement with theoretical tenetsof practice approaches and socialization theory in international relations andEU studies. As a token of the collaborative spirit in which this book has beenwritten, the book and the chapters bear the names of the authors in alphabeticalorder.

This introductory chapter sheds light on the opportunities and challenges that the digital era has in store for the European Union (EU) at a time when its fundamental values are being called into question by prominent political currents. The chapter sets the scene by an account of how previous periods of technological transformation affected European societies and considers the financial and regulatory resources at the disposal of the EU to manage the technological shift of the 2020s. The chapter introduces the book’s interdisciplinary approach, which offers various disciplinary perspectives on how the technological mega-shift impacts the EU’s ability to meet the multifaceted challenges it is facing. The chapter concludes that decision-makers at the national as well as European levels must be prepared to take a holistic perspective when addressing technological trends and seeking solutions to the problems that arise in the wake of changing economic and political conditions in society.

Cooperation in international organizations (IOs) is sustained by the socialization of state agents and their internalization of the organizations’ norms and identity. This article builds on a structured comparison of the scope conditions for socialization among permanent representatives in two organs of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization—the Political and Security Com-mittee (PSC) and the North Atlantic Council (NAC). In this study, we present some unexpected findings: First, the NAC is experiencing greater internalization (stronger socialization) than the PSC, normally held as a critical case of international sociali-zation. Second, unambiguous norms favour socialization to a larger degree than ambiguous norms, refuting a widely held assumption about the pro-internalization effect of diffuse norms. Given that member states seem to grant their representa-tives larger “room for manoeuvre” when the norms of the IO have material stakes, the socialization effect of an IO’s norms is dependent on the perceived utility of the organization’s mission.

Various crises have plagued the EU's foreign policy over the last decade. As some member states increasingly question the founding principles of the EU, it is reasonable to expect that national representatives serving in preparatory bodies in the EU are forced to operate under stricter instructions from their capitals. Nevertheless, strong adherence to the coordination reflex and problem‐solving ethos is still prevalent within the political and security committee (PSC), the main policy coordination body within EU foreign policy. In order to understand this counterintuitive puzzle we conducted interviews with 20 PSC representatives. We found that national representatives primarily internalize and adhere to the rules and practices at the level of the group (procedural norms) rather than the founding principles of the EU (constitutive norms). Contrary to existing research, we argue that a theoretical distinction between these norms is necessary in order to understand fully how crises and contestation affect microlevel socialization.

This book explores the complex and ever-changing relationship between the European Union and its member states. The recent surge in tension in this relationship has been prompted by the actions of some member state governments as they question fundamental EU values and principles and refuse to implement common decisions seemingly on the basis of narrowly defined national interests. Furthermore, Brexit forces the EU for the first time to face the prospect of a major member state preparing to leave the Union. Are these developments heralding the return of the nation-state, and if so, in what form? Is the national revival a lasting phenomenon that will affect the EU for a long time to come, or is it a transitory trend? This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to answer these questions. It brings together scholars from economics, law, and political science to provide insights into the multifaceted relations between the Union and its member states from different perspectives. All chapters are based on up-to-date research findings, succinct assessments of the current state of affairs and ongoing debates about the direction of European integration. The book concludes by offering policy recommendations at European and national levels.

This introductory chapter sheds new light on the increasingly complex relationship between the European Union and the nation-state—in its capacity as EU member state—at a time when its fundamental values are being called into question by prominent political currents. The chapter explores the concept of the nation-state in a contemporary European context and shows that tensions between supranationalism and intergovernmentalism are since long a defining feature of European integration. The chapter then introduces the book’s interdisciplinary approach which offers different disciplinary perspectives on how the return of the nation-state impacts the EU’s ability to meet the multifaceted challenges it is facing. The chapter concludes by arguing that the EU must take the tensions which arise from the strengthening of the nation-state seriously while actively standing up for the European political project, its basic legal principles and democratic values.