This note makes the case for a research agenda that addresses the politicization of EU external relations. There is reason to think that, as it is happening on the related issues of globalization and European integration, the role of the EU in the world is becoming more contentious. The EU, an alleged norm exporter, might be turning more divided about the appropriateness of the norms that underpin EU external relations. The article argues that variation in the character of this politicization will depend on the degree of authority transferred to the EU and to international institutions. Such transfers will lead to different blends of two basic models of conflict over EU external relations. One has been described by the literature on the politicization of the EU and the other by the literature on normative processes that see international norms as the object of both promotion and dissent.