Europeanisation as de-politicisation, crisis as re-politicisation: the case of Greek foreign policy during the Eurozone crisis

Abstract

This article examines the Europeanisation of Greek foreign policy during the Eurozone crisis. It proposes a conceptualisation of Europeanisation as de-politicisation and argues that national foreign policy in the EU under crisis has been re-politicised, i.e. it is increasingly contested among electorates while elites are becoming more conscious of the legitimacy deficits created when national policymaking is exercised primarily via EU institutions. In this context, Europeanisation of foreign policy becomes reflexive, i.e. it is subject to more active scrutiny by public opinion while foreign policy making reflects more elites' effort to manage increasingly fractious state-society relations. The article also differentiates between two types of re-politicisation of foreign policy: nationalist and societal politicisation, both of which were evident in Greece during the crisis years. Beyond these concepts, the article highlights more generally the importance of national party politics for foreign policy Europeanisation, a dimension mostly neglected in the literature.