The effects of the international political field on EU foreign policy: The case of the EU training mission in Mali

Analysing the making of the EU's foreign and defence policy generally involves identifying European constraints that reconfigure the calculations, aims and practices of the member states and their representatives. Through the case of the EU Training Mission in Mali, this article seeks to show that the European "transnational machinery" is also subject to the effects of the international political field. To do this, it explores how representing a large state, rather than a small one, shapes the resources and constraints of national delegates within the EU. The concept of state political capital helps to illuminate the impact of interstate hierarchies and struggles on the institutions, negotiations and identities of EU actors. It also helps to explain how French representatives find it difficult to construct a European policy favourable to their interests. The demonstration is based on an in-depth field survey, which draws on standard open sources, interviews and classified public archives.