Personal Diplomacy in the EU ─ Political Leadership and Critical Junctures of European Integration

At a time when the economic troubles and bailouts of Greece and other European economies are casting significant doubt on the future viability of the Eurozone and the EU, it is crucial to examine how the political will necessary to make major changes in the integration process comes about. This book makes a significant conceptual and empirical contribution by elucidating the extent to which the integration process does not hinge on institutions and norms, but on the relations among leaders. Vogt conducts a comparative diplomatic history of three critical junctures in the process of European integration: the creation of the Common Market (1955-1957), British accession (1969-1973), and the introduction of the Euro (1989-1993). He illustrates how personal diplomacy, leadership constellations, and the dynamics among leaders enable breakthroughs or inhibit accords. He also reveals how the EU’s system of top-level decision-making that privileges institutionalised summitry has operated in the past and suggests - in a separate chapter - why it has come to atrophy and prove more dysfunctional of late.

Vogt goes beyond the widespread reductionist and deterministic assumptions about the role of individuals in European diplomacy. He suggests an alternative analytical framework that illustrates the often unforeseen ways how different leaders encountered and reacted to the circumstances around them, how they developed trust and working relationships among each other, and how their own ideas about ‘Europe’ played a role in informing their political behaviour and negotiation strategies. Last but not least, this book stresses the central role of risk-taking for the exercise of leadership.

Roland Vogt is Assistant Professor of European Studies at the The University of Hong Kong