The EEA and Norway Grants: A Source of Soft Power?

Abstract:

Much of the EU literature is concerned with power in one way or the other — voting power, negotiation power, normative power, etc. However, less attention has been accorded to the power of national financial contributions. While it is difficult to isolate the power potential linked to the size and the character of the contributions from the different member states it might be easier to investigate the power potential of the contributions of a close associated non-member, like Norway. This is precisely what this article attempts to do. It investigates the EEA and Norway Grants and asks whether the contribution can be viewed as a source of Norwegian soft power.