Bulletin n. 3/2011
February 2012
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Tuomas Forsberg
    Normative Power Europe, Once Again: A Conceptual Analysis of an Ideal Type
    in Journal of Common Market Studies , Volume 49, Issue 6, November 2011 ,  2011 ,  1183-1204
    The concept of ‘Normative Power Europe’ (NPE) has become very popular for analysing the foreign policy and external relations of the European Union (EU). There is, however, confusion about what ‘normative power’ actually means, which is why the debate over whether the EU actually is or is not a normative power has not always been as fruitful as it could be. This article proposes two necessary starting points for more constructive discussion: a distinction between ‘normative’ and ‘normal’, and a distinction between ‘power as a powerful actor’ and ‘power as ability to cause effects’. Furthermore, the article distinguishes between ‘normative identity’, ‘normative interests’, ‘normative behaviour’, ‘normative means of power’ and ‘normative outcomes’ as separate features of a normative power. There are also at least four different mechanisms through which normative power is exercised: by persuasion, by invoking norms, by shaping the discourse and by leading through example. The article concludes that normative power is best seen as an ideal type – one which the EU approximates more closely than other great powers.
    ©2001 - 2020 - Centro Studi sul Federalismo - P. IVA 94067130016