Political Science has generated ample empirical evidence on the impact of European integration on the member states of the EU. In the field of foreign policy, however, in-depth analysis is rarely available - not least because the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is rather perceived as a non-binding forum for intergovernmental cooperation. Nevertheless, the Treaty of Maastricht has brought about the emergence of a new multidimensional governance system in foreign policy making which is putting the member states under considerable pressure to adapt their institutions, procedures and policy preferences to the European policy cycle. Using the concepts of Europeanisation and Fusion, René Lüddecke investigates to what extend the existence of CFSP impacts on the structures and processes of foreign policy decision making in Germany and Britain and which patterns of adaptation become apparent. The analysis shows that both countries have undergone substantial changes with regard to their institutions, policies and procedures of decision making. Yet, adapting to the needs and logic of the European policy cycle has not undermined the power to pursue national interests. In fact, Germany and Britain have been successful in different ways to maintain and assert their respective foreign policies by utilising CFSP to open up new opportunities for agenda-setting, participation and scrutiny at a European level.weiterlesen