From a Good to a Poor Student: The De-Europeanisation of Slovenian Foreign Policy in the Light of (European) Economic and Financial Crisis

Abstract

This article deals with the issue of de-Europeanisation of Slovenian foreign policy in the light of the (European) financial and economic crisis. It proposes a theoretical framework that distinguishes between Europeanisation as an independent/dependent variable and between the agency/structure drivers, thus enabling to identify four types of mechanisms facilitating the Europeanisation process and (its) outcomes. Empirical research is based on a multi-case study of Slovenian foreign policy decision-making which draws on interviews with key Slovenian foreign ministry officials and diplomats, as well as on primary documents and secondary literature. Based on the conclusions stemming from empirical research this article argues that in the context of the (European) financial and economic crisis, the European Union (EU) has become more a part of the problem than a part of the solution for Slovenian foreign policy priorities: which is why the Slovenian foreign policy-making process has been disengaged from the European Union level and Slovenian foreign policy in substance significantly departed from the EUropean normative framework.