βAn excellent collection of essays that illustrate how EU member statesβ wish to implement normatively inspired policies is confronted with the geopolitical realities of todayβs world. The authors succeed in presenting an even-handed account of the way in which the tensions between norms and geopolitics play out, as well as of the responses given by EU policy makers.β
βWil Hout, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University, the Netherlands
The European Union (EU), while collectively constituting the worldβs largest development provider, has come under internal and external pressures over the past decade. This book argues that the EUβs development policies are situated between the blocβs normative ideals and the global geopolitical realities in which it is embedded. In order to investigate these tensions, it asks how far the 'normative power' Europe concept exists in EU development policies, and how far it is recognizable in the EUβs focus on human rights, the rule of law, and sustainability. In light of the tension in EU development policies between those ideals and the necessity to project neoliberal and geopolitical interests, how do receiving countries perceive the EUβs development efforts? This volume, complete with contributions from academics from a wide range of disciplines based all around the globe, provides answers to these essential questions.