Liberal power Europe

Author (Person)
Series Title
Series Details Vol.55, No.6, November 2017, p1398–1414
Publication Date November 2017
ISSN 0021-9886
Content Type

Abstract:

The European Union is best understood as a liberal power – as an actor that is composed of liberal democracies whose interests, identities and institutions motivate and constrain its policy. The conceptualization of the EU as a liberal power helps to overcome three shortcomings of alternative notions such as civilian power or Normative Power Europe: First, norms are not only understood as driving forces but also as constraints on foreign policy; second, liberal power Europe emphasizes the contested nature of norms and conflicts between norms and thus draws attention to the politics of EU external relations; third, it encourages an engagement with the vast literature on the distinctive policies of liberal democracies in international relations and foreign policy analysis. The EU's crisis management serves to illustrate the value-added of the liberal power Europe concept.

Source Link Link to Main Source http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12572
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Countries / Regions