Intégration européenne et pratique diplomatique : l’expérience autrichienne (1987-2009)
This master’s thesis seeks to analyse the implications of European integration for national diplomacy. Using a sociological approach premised on individuals’ practices, I undertake a case study, spanned between 1987 and 2009, on the Austrian diplomatic corps. This study - which draws upon interview material collected in Vienna in 2009 – recounts the changes brought by European integration for Austrian diplomats’ practices and representations of neutrality, the latter being a core tenet of Austria’s diplomacy during the Cold War. We also concentrate on the adaptation process undergone by Austrian diplomats and their foreign ministry regarding the social dynamics at play in diplomatic interaction within the European Union (EU). Overall, I argue that diplomats involved in the daily management of EU business (either internal or external affairs) converge on a set of rules and social representations; altogether this process amounts to substantial adaptation and change for a diplomatic corps joining the EU in 1995 like Austria’s.
Austria Diplomacy European Union (EU) Foreign ministry Sociology European Community affairs Common foreign and security policy (CFSP) Neutrality Europeanization