(Preface) Global Citizen and European Republic: Irish Foreign Policy in Transition

Abstract

This book offers a new and innovative way of looking at Irish foreign policy, linking its development with changes in Irish national identity. Many debates within contemporary International Relations focus on the relative benefits of taking a traditional interest-based approach to the study of foreign policy as opposed to the more recently developed identity-based approach. Uniquely, this book takes the latter and instead of looking at Irish foreign policy through the lens of individual, geo-strategic or political interest, it is linked to deeper identity changes. (The order of the book is as follows: Introduction * The narrative of the Irish nation * The narrative of the global citizen * The narrative of the European Republic * The narrative of the Anglo American state * Policy actors and structures: The executive drama * Policy actors and structures: The democratic coda * European ambitions and obligations * Security, defence and neutrality * Case study: The war in Iraq 2003 * Conclusions * Bibliography).