Issue-area e politica estera europea: il caso della non proliferazione nucleare

This article tries to apply the classical tools of Foreign Policy Analysis to the case of EU external actions. It uses the classification of issue-areas made by Theodore Lowi to study EU foreign policy. In particular the article analyzes three case-studies of EU nuclear non-proliferation policy: the decision in July 1994 to back indefinite extension of the Non-proliferation Treaty; the decision in December 1994 to establish a Community control system on exports of dual-use goods; and the decision in March 1996 to participate in KEDO. Analysis of these case-studies provides the advantage of an issue-area perspective for European foreign policy and illustrates the severe limits of applying a strictly intergovernmental approach to understanding the Common Foreign and Security Policy