European political economy review · 2007 · 14 citations · 29 references
Social SciencesInternational RelationsPolitical ScienceForeign Policy AnalysisInternational OrganizationsPolicy AnalysisEuropean Foreign PolicyEuropean IntegrationEuropean PoliticsEuropean Union StudiesForeign PolicyPolitical PowerEuropean Neighbourhood PolicyEuropean Union External RelationsEuropean Union Policy-makingEuropean Union PoliticsExternal Economic RelationsForeign Policy BehaviorForeign Policy FramingSoft Power Resources
Recently, a new buzz word has appeared in official speeches in the field of the European Union’s external relations: “ Soft power”. The notion was first coined for American foreign policy and is now at the heart of EU foreign policy discourses, especial ly the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The ENP launched in 200 3 for the new EU neighbours draws heavily on the experience o f the past enlargements by exporting internal norms, values an d policies abroad. The article explores the hypothesis that th e discourse on “soft power” represents an attempt to go beyond a t raditional understanding of foreign policy and of conditionality . By developing its own definition of “soft power”, the EU tries to position itself on the international stage by preferring civilian over coercive means and thus seeks to increase the ENP’s legitimacy thr ough attraction instead of accession. Nevertheless, it will need to improve its internal consistency if it wants to avoid serious critic ism of the ENP and bridge its famous capability-expectations gap.
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The Science of "Muddling Through"
Charles E. Lindblom · Public Administration Review · 1959 · 8.2K citations