Foreign Policy Objectives
in European Constitutional Law
Joris Larik
Presenting the first
comprehensive account of foreign policy objectives as a growing part of
European constitutional law, Joris Larik confronts the trend of enshrining
international ambitions in the highest laws of states and the European Union.
Closely examining the provisions of foreign policy objectives, Larik
differentiates their legal force and functions, situating them into the overall
legal order of the state, the EU, and the composite 'European constitutional
space'. He argues that the codification of foreign policy objectives suggests a
progression in the evolution of the role of the constitution: from limiting
public authority to guiding it towards certain goals, both at home and in the
wider world.
Advancing a comparative
constitutional perspective for the study of EU external relations, this volume
contributes a constitutional dimension to the 'normative power' debate in the
study of EU foreign policy. Drawing on established national doctrines on
constitutional objectives from Germany, France, and India, the book provides a
common vocabulary for coming to terms with foreign policy objectives as legal
norms across different jurisdictions. In the pluralist context and closely
intertwined legal orders of the EU and its Member States, it shows how
objectives help to channel the individual ambitions of the Member States
through the Union framework towards a more coherent external action.
Furthermore, the book connects its legal findings with the debate on the EU as
an actor in international relations, exploring the role of these norms in
inter-institutional struggles and processes of identity-shaping, legitimation,
and socialization.
