Constructing the Self and Changing Others: Reconsidering `Normative Power Europe'

TLDR

The EU is widely regarded as a novel international actor, a notion encapsulated by the term “normative power Europe.” The article argues that normative power and civilian power belong to a shared discourse that extends beyond the EU to include powers such as the United States, and it problematizes “normative power Europe” by focusing on the political effects of framing the EU as a normative power. It reviews the literature on normative power and connects it to earlier studies of civilian power. Drawing on the Euro‑Mediterranean Partnership, Turkey‑EU relations, and sanctions against Austria, the article shows that the “normative power Europe” discourse constructs a distinct EU identity by casting third parties as “others” and portraying the EU as a positive global actor, and it calls for greater reflexivity in this representation.

Abstract

The European Union (EU) is widely seen as a novel kind of actor in international politics. This has been captured succinctly by Ian Manner's term `normative power Europe'. This article reviews the literature on the concept of normative power and relates it to the earlier literature on civilian power. It argues that these concepts of power should be seen as part of the same discourse; a discourse which is not confined to the EU, but includes the cases of other great powers, such as the United States (US). The example of the US leads to a problematisation of `normative power Europe' that does not focus on the discrepancy between rhetoric and concrete policies, or on the inconsistencies of EU policies, but on the political effects of the construction of the EU as a normative power; i.e., on the power of the `normative power Europe' discourse. With illustrations drawn from the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, Turkey-EU relations and the sanctions against Austria, I argue that this discourse establishes a particular identity for the EU through turning third parties into `others' and representing the EU as a positive force in world politics. The article concludes with a call for more reflexivity in the representation of the EU as a normative power.