Abstract
Highlighting the distinction between procedural and substantive norms, this article analyses the digitalization of multilateral communication between EU member states. Considering multilateral communications as a backbone of EU foreign policy, the authors suggest that one of the first symptoms of a weakening of EU foreign policy would be the fragmentation of these processes of communication. The digital transition in diplomatic practices would have facilitated such fragmentation. Yet the analysis in this paper shows that the multilateral mode of communication has remained surprisingly stable. To understand this robustness, the authors suggest that we must move beyond the focus on the functional role of communication to analyse its normative qualities. In turn, identifying these normative qualities can also help our understanding of the relative robustness of the overall EU foreign policy system.
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