Suchergebnisse

"Center of attention in the chapter is EU trade. According to the author, this is arguably the EU's most highly centralized policy domain. It is for this reason that EU trade represents a significant case study for characterizing the EU as a global actor. This chapter examines EU trade policy with regard to its objectives, instruments, style and decision-making procedures. A variety of examples, including the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations with developing countries, will be emphasized. The author comes to the conclusion that, concerning trade policy, the EU's actions bear more resemble to a great power than a civilian or normative power." (author's abstract)

"The author sets out to explain the European Union's military operations in Africa. Are they, he asks, humanitarian responses to alleviate human suffering at the other end of the world? And are they intended to react to an increasing number of internal conflicts before their sheer number and scope turn into a global risk? Burckhardt analyses the international role of the EU as great power versus civilian power by looking at the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), and the EU missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2003 and 2006 in particular. He argues that the activities of the EU can best be explained in the framework of realism and by considering the EU as a great power since it intervenes to gain prestige - and not to alleviate misery and stop serious violations of human rights. Thus, Burckhardt concludes, the EU undertakes military intervention to serve first and foremost its own concerns and not acting out of humanitarian concerns. With regards to global risks, it seems that the EU uses situations that are commonly perceived as (global) risks, i.e. deadly internal conflicts in Africa, to put forward its own interest in strengthening its status as a great power. This behaviour, in turn, can lead to the emergence of other, new risks: less cooperation with other actors such as the UN and hence a weakening of multilateral institutions, arbitrary (non-)reaction to or disregard of situations in which reaction is really needed (e.g. Darfur), and over-emphasis of military responses to international threats to the detriment of preventive measures and international law." (extract)