arbiter
JournalsAccount

Decentring EU Foreign Policy Analysis Through Ethnography: The Heuristic Virtue of Fieldwork Relocation

Léonard Colomba-Petteng

Alternatives: global, local, political2026https://doi.org/10.1177/03043754261433639article
ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

The decentring agenda has gained traction in the literature on EU foreign policy over the past fifteen years. While debates have largely focused on normative and epistemological questions, methodological and fieldwork-related issues have been overlooked. This article emphasizes the potential contribution of ethnography to further operationalize the decentring agenda. We argue that the relocation of the site of observation from Brussels-based institutions to the ground of intervention – in Niger – reveals the agency of African actors and their influence on EU foreign policy. Following an inductive approach, ethnography also serves as a heuristic device connecting bodies of literatures that examine EU interventions in Africa from different perspectives (international relations, foreign policy analysis, sociology of EU integration, and African studies). The first part of the article discusses what ethnographic research entails and its added value to the decentring agenda. The second part reflexively introduces the conditions under which it might be possible to conduct fieldwork research and observations, building on the case of Niger. The third part explains how the empirical material produced and collected on the field provides insights that contribute to the decentring of EU foreign policy.

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/03043754261433639

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{léonard2026,
  title        = {{Decentring EU Foreign Policy Analysis Through Ethnography: The Heuristic Virtue of Fieldwork Relocation}},
  author       = {Léonard Colomba-Petteng},
  journal      = {Alternatives: global, local, political},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/03043754261433639},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Decentring EU Foreign Policy Analysis Through Ethnography: The Heuristic Virtue of Fieldwork Relocation

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.