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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Normative Power Europe? Economic Partnership Agreements and Africa |
Author: | Storey, Andy |
Year: | 2006 |
Periodical: | Journal of Contemporary African Studies |
Volume: | 24 |
Issue: | 3 |
Pages: | 331-346 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Africa |
Subjects: | ACP European Union trade agreements international relations Economics and Trade |
External links: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02589000600976646 http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=4097933CA8818E8FF911 |
Abstract: | The European Union's claim to normative power in international relations, deriving from the EU model of post-national governance and social protection and the EU commitment to the rule of law and respect for human rights, has not gone uncontested. In view of the critique, the question arises as to whether there is real substance to the idea of a Normative Power Europe in relation to how Europe conducts its external affairs, especially vis-à-vis developing countries. An analysis of the EU's negotiating positions vis-à-vis the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) being put in place with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries suggests that while there is no doubt that the EU's trade agenda in general is hugely influenced by corporate lobbying, there may also be a sense in which the EU is not necessarily pursuing immediate commercial goals, but is acting to diffuse 'norms'. What is being promoted is a particular model of 'good governance', narrowly focused on specific norms concerning liberal democracy and market economics. However, this particular model of behaviour may not correspond to the developmental needs of African economies. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |