Europe and Iran’s Nuclear Crisis

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

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2. Introduction: The E3/EU Iran Group

   • Riccardo Alcaro

   Pages 1-20

3. Theory and History

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-21

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   2. The Theory: Lead Groups and EU Foreign Policy-Making

      • Riccardo Alcaro

      Pages 23-57

   3. The History: The 2003–16 Iran Nuclear Crisis

      • Riccardo Alcaro

      Pages 59-90

4. Part II

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 91-91

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   2. The Bargain: How the E3/EU Came About

      • Riccardo Alcaro

      Pages 93-115

   3. The Discourse: Why the E3/EU Endured

      • Riccardo Alcaro

      Pages 117-140

5. Part III

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 141-142

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   2. The Premise: The Underneath Continuity in the E3/EU’s Iran Policy

      • Riccardo Alcaro

      Pages 143-155

   3. The Action/1: E3 Leadership and EU Ownership

      • Riccardo Alcaro

      Pages 157-180

   4. The Action/2: The E3/EU and the United States

      • Riccardo Alcaro

      Pages 181-202

   5. The Outcome: The E3/EU as Identity Shapers

      • Riccardo Alcaro

      Pages 203-223

   6. Conclusion: The E3/EU and EU Foreign Policy

      • Riccardo Alcaro

      Pages 225-242

6. Back Matter

   Pages 243-293

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This book investigates the European involvement in managing the nuclear dispute with Iran, shedding new light on EU foreign policy-making. The author focuses on the peculiar format through which the EU managed Iran’s nuclear issue: a ‘lead group’ consisting of France, Germany and the UK and the High Representative for EU foreign policy (E3/EU). The experience of the E3/EU lends credibility to the claim that lead groups give EU foreign policy direction and substance. The E3/EU set up a negotiating framework that worked as a de-escalating tool, a catalyst for Security Council unity and a forum for crisis management. They inflicted pain on Iran by adopting a comprehensive sanctions regime, but did so only having secured US commitment to a diplomatic solution. Once the deal was reached, they defended it vigorously. The E3/EU may have been supporting actors, but their achievements were real. 

• Iran's nuclear crisis
• EU and nuclear weapons
• EU foreign policy
• France and Iran nuclear talks
• Germany and Iran nuclear talks
• UK and Iranian nuclear talks
• EU/E3
• EU Security council
• International Security studies
• sanctions regime on Iran
• Iranian nuclear weapons
• international diplomacy
• 2003-16 Iranian nuclear crisis
• theoretical framework for EU foreign policy
• EU-Iranian nuclear deal
• US and Iran nuclear crisis
• EU/E3 Iran agreements
• EU/E3 Iran talks
• Europeanisation of foreign policy
• Iran's nuclear programme

“Riccardo Alcaro has produced a superbly researched and written book making a major contribution to the study of EU foreign policy. A must read for anyone wishing to understand the intricacies of the EU’s major foreign policy success to date – the E3/3 nuclear deal with Iran – as well as the specific role that lead groups play in the making of such policy.” (Nathalie Tocci, Director of the International Affairs Institute (IAI), Italy and Personal Advisor to High Representative Mogherini)

“In his outstanding analysis of the role of EU lead groups in the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear power programme, Alcaro combines fascinating historical detail with thought-provoking theoretical reflection. Whatever happens to the further development of EU foreign policy, the important role of lead groups will not go away, and this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how they work.” (Professor Thomas Diez, University of Tübingen, Germany)

• Istituto Affari Internazionali, Rome, Italy

  Riccardo Alcaro

Riccardo Alcaro is Research Coordinator and Head of the Global Actors Programme of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), Italy. He has been a visiting fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe of the Brookings Institution. Riccardo holds a PhD from the University of Tuebingen.

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