The Role of Experts in Greek Foreign Policy

Abstract

This article explores the role of expertise in Greek foreign policy by linking the literature on Europeanization and the epistemic community framework. Knowledge, power and foreign policy reform are considered in an analysis of the “soft” mechanisms of Europeanization and of the way in which the expert's role is being enhanced. The theoretical claims made herein are illustrated in a discussion of the strategy shift of the 1990s as regards Greece's stand on Turkey's EU candidacy. The nature and action of the epistemic community that pushed for the adoption and implementation of this reform is also discussed.