In this article, we investigate the function of strategic partnerships as a new type of state interaction in the international system. We are primarily interested in the dynamics of strategic partnerships and to that aim we analyze the competitive role-playing that occurs in the EU-China Strategic Partnership. We contend that EU and China engage in competitive role-playing in order to enhance their position and status as global actors and to seek recognition of their international roles. The interaction between the EU and China is analyzed throughout four periods in which their role conceptions have undergone change and adaptation. The article claims to make a theoretical contribution by developing the understanding of social interaction in the international system by conceptualizing strategic partnerships as arenas (structures) in which international roles play out, and an empirical contribution by tracing the complexities of the EU-China Strategic Partnership by utilizing role theory's conceptual apparatus.

It is commonly argued that political elites in Europe are increasingly acting in accordance with shared norms, identities and practices, thus shaping the character of international cooperation in Europe, not least in the field of security. However, in contrast to such expectations, European security cooperation often displays highly irregular and unpredictable patterns. This article offers a conceptual framework that seeks to make sense of these irregular patterns without refuting the assumption that social institutions in the sphere of international security shape cooperation in fundamental ways. Our point of departure is the observation that European states are embedded in international orders that produce norms and practices that sometimes complement and sometimes compete with each other. We contend that a general situational mechanism traceable through a number of domestic-level factors conditions the propensity of European states to coordinate national security policy. The framework, designed to make sense of the often-irregular patterns of European security cooperation, is illustrated by examples from European states' response to the 2011 crisis in Libya.

Denna bok presenterar ett heltäckande perspektiv på Europeiska unionens policyprocess. Med utgångspunkt i en beskrivning av EU:s institutioner, styrformer och huvudaktörer redogörs för hur europeisk politik utformas och implementeras. Huvuddelen av boken ägnas åt EU:s inre marknadspolitik, den ekonomiska och monetära unionen och den europeiska utrikespolitiken. I fokus står politikens framväxt, uppbyggnad och senaste utvecklings-tendenser, i kölvattnet av den finansiella och ekonomiska krisen och EU:s alltmer framträdande roll på det internationella planet. Boken är avsedd som en lättillgänglig men ingående ledsagare till EU:s policyprocess till alla som har behov av eller intresse av att förstå hur EU fungerar.

This article examines the link between constructed identity, socialization and interests in the Europeanization of national foreign policy. Theoretically, it contributes to the understanding of the conditions motivating Member States to have recourse to European Union (EU) opportunity structures in order to balance normative foreign policy interest with material interests. Empirically, the article contributes to understanding the influence of Europeanization on the foreign policy of Denmark and Sweden in their relations to China. It discusses perspectives on Europeanization of national foreign policy in the analysis of change in identity, institutions and policy, and explores the misfit thesis in relation to European identity construction and elite socialization, strategic calculation and the influence of alternative sources outside the EU. The research aims, study design and case selection are then presented prior to the analysis of the Europeanization of Denmark's and Sweden's relations with China.