Assessing the Europeanisation of Portuguese foreign and security policy

Abstract

This thesis examines how Portuguese foreign policy is constructed, drawing upon qualitative data gathered from interviews with policy-making elites and official documentation. It assesses the extent to which Portugal’s accession to the European Community in 1986 has resulted in a transformation of the domestic policy-making structures, and how this has impacted Portuguese foreign policy, by building upon sociological institutionalist accounts of how European integration has shaped aspects of national identity and the construction of national foreign policy roles. Through increased familiarity with the EU and elite socialisation, Portuguese foreign policy-making processes have become increasingly mindful of the European context. However, in terms of policy outputs, the Lusophone world and NATO remain key areas of interest for Portugal. The Europeanisation of Portuguese foreign policy is, therefore, limited. While Member States shape, and are shaped by, EU policies, the transformative effects of the EU on national foreign policies are restricted, as the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy reflect more of a patchwork of different national foreign policy priorities interacting in an intergovernmental framework. While common interests and norms of behaviour have emerged, these are not necessarily a consequence of EU membership and Europeanisation processes. For example, NATO’s role in the internationalisation and multilateralisation of Portuguese foreign and security policy was significant. Contemporary Portuguese foreign policy operates in an internationalised, multilateral context. Portugal maintains strong ties with its former colonies, whilst supporting the UN and NATO and contributing to the development of the EU’s global actorness. Stressing the complementarity of the EU, NATO and the Lusophone global community, allows Portugal to pursue its Lusophone interests without reneging on its other commitments.