Normative Power Research Articles

Normative power in higher education: the ghost of inherent requirements

ABSTRACT This paper presents an analysis of two surveys that were conducted in an Australian university’s School of Education, investigating how students and staff understood the inherent requirements of their courses. The survey results highlight that despite there being no explicit written inherent requirement statements for these courses both staff and students believed they had a deep understanding of the nature and potential effects of inherent requirements. The longer the students and staff were connected with the School, the more likely they were to feel aware of the culturally structured inherent requirements of these courses. Overwhelmingly, staff and students drew upon a hegemonic doxa that normalised exclusion on the basis of the assumed limitations of individual students or potential course applicants. The authors propose a shift in policy and practice from inherency focused on the assumed student deficits towards coherency premised on the teacher workforce, better resembling the intent of inclusion of education and of society more generally.

EU Sanctions Policy Vis-à-Vis Russia

This research piece investigates the role of norms in European Union (EU) sanctions policy towards Russia in the context of the Russia Ukraine War. It aims to answer the research question of the extent to which the EU’s foreign policy in this particular case can be interpreted as having normative power. As an analytical lens, the Normative Power Europe (NPE) framework is used. In order to tackle the question, this study deploys an interdisciplinary approach drawing from EU law and social sciences. It combines EU legislation and case law of the European Court of Justice on the one hand, with a qualitative content analysis of official EU press releases on the other. The first part of the analysis focuses on the doctrinal legal analysis of the relevant EU law in order to account for the normative-legal basis and legitimacy of EU autonomous sanctions. The second part investigates if the EU in this particular case is guided by international norms (milieu goals) or economic interests (possession goals) and which foreign policy instruments it uses to pursue its objectives. The study finds that the EU is committed to its normative identity.

The EU in motion through emotions: Fear and migration policy in the Euro-Mediterranean context

ABSTRACT Since the 1990s, migration has featured prominently in Euro-Mediterranean relations. The EU migration policy has progressively shifted from a normative-comprehensive approach tackling the root causes of migration through development aid towards a control-oriented toolbox designed to immediately stop migration flows to Europe. This change has blemished the EU’s image as a normative power and contravened the region-building logic of the Barcelona Process. Contributing to the emotional turn in European Foreign Policy, this article argues that this shift corresponds to the behaviour of an actor under the grip of fear. The securitization of migration has permeated the EU institutions and contributed to the social construction of fear, leading to the emergence of fearful emotional practices. Based on the emotion discourse analysis of relevant EU documents, this article highlights the importance of fear as driver of policy change, triggering the EU to deviate from its own normative commitments in its external relations.

Europe’s quest for sustainability: An opportunity for centre–right parties?

The reasons for the decline of European centre–right parties since the 1990s are widely debated and subject to different explanations. One such explanation is that there has been a lack of an overarching narrative. In recent years, sustainability has become a dominant concept in European political debates. The article analyses whether this concept could become the core of a new political vision for centre–right parties and should no longer be considered only a leftist–green project. Three significant aspects of sustainability are discussed: future value creation, foreign relations and the future of democracy. In all three fields, there is a huge potential to redefine sustainability beyond the narrow environmentalist understanding, linking this approach to a long history of conservative, Christian Democratic thinking. For Europe as a global actor, sustainability could become a key component of its normative power, with many opportunities to link up with similar initiatives in other world regions.

Leaving the dragon’s shadow – Normative Power Europe and the emergence of a Taiwan policy in the EU?

ABSTRACT For a long time, Taiwan was confined to being an object of the EU’s China policy, but the EU increasingly treats Taiwan as a partner in its own right. EU-Taiwan relations are in their most dynamic stage since the EU opened its representative office in Taipei in 2003. But the ‘One China policy’ still constrains EU-Taiwan relations, as the EU only recognizes the People’s Republic of China as a sovereign state and not Taiwan. The article analyzes EU-Taiwan relations through the lens of Normative Power Europe. Taiwan has gained more attention and support in the EU, because Taiwan is Asia’s most liberal democracy. Furthermore, Taiwan also fits well into the EU’s geo-economic strategy of de-risking. China’s increasingly aggressive policy towards Taiwan and strong support from the United States for Taiwan strengthen the EU’s support for Taiwan, too.

The development of UNESCO’s programmes for preventing violent extremism: educational norms, institutional politics and declining legitimacy

ABSTRACT Since 2015, UNESCO has developed a variety of programmes for preventing violent extremism through education (PVE-E), under the framework of Global Citizenship Education and Target 4.7 of Agenda 2030. There have been formal board decisions to promote PVE-E, regional and international conferences and three key publications: a Teacher’s Guide (2016), a Guide for Policy-makers (2017), and a Youth-Led Guide (2017 and 2018). Through a discourse analysis of these key documents and a critical engagement with the institutional politics of UNESCO, the paper delineates the discursive constructs of PVE-E that are mobilised and sheds light on the under-researched politics of production that affect the nature of these texts. Taking a comparative perspective, the paper shows how PVE-E is represented within and between these different texts, exposes the normative values and ideological assumptions underpinning these representations and argues that we are ultimately witnessing a declining legitimacy of UNESCO’s normative power.

Animal protection as animal welfare and anti-cruelty: a genealogical re-examination of the EU seal products ban

This article suggests a way to inquire into animal protection politics as a specific field of international politics which regulates human-animal relations. Based on a genealogical analysis of the emergence of animal protection thinking in 19th and 20th century Great Britain, it argues that animal protection is structured by two specific strategies, anti-cruelty and animal welfare, that constitute our knowledge of what animal protection is and how it can be achieved. Whereas animal welfare suggests that animal protection means the meticulous technical standardisation of animal use along the scientific knowledge about particular species’ stress levels, anti-cruelty takes a moral approach and suggests that animal protection can be achieved by taming the cruel human subject by means of legal prohibition. The article uses these strategies as an interpretative lens for analysing the EU’s behaviour in the seal products case. It argues that the ban of the trade in seal products can be understood as the result of the anti-cruelty strategy gaining dominance in the EU debates on its seal policy. Moreover, in the ensuing WTO struggle the moral undertones of anti-cruelty made it possible for the EU to frame the ban as the protection of public morals under Article XX (a) GATT and thus to establish animal protection as a legitimate ground for trade restrictions. The antagonistic identity construction attached to anti-cruelty moreover made it possible for the EU to constitute itself as a morally superior subject and to re-emerge as a normative power in the context of animal protection. The article concludes by reflecting about further avenues for research on international animal protection politics.

노동조합법 제2조 및 제3조 개정법률안에 대한 거부권 행사의 부당성

This article aims to look into the constitutional legitimacy of the possible exercise of the President's veto power to prevent the proposed amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act, which were referred to the plenary session of the National Assembly at the end of June 2023 with the collaborative initiation of the opposition parties despite the resistance of the ruling party, from becoming law.
 The presidential veto is a power that allows the president to object to a bill passed by the National Assembly and return it to the National Assembly for reconsideration. There are some competing views on the legal nature of this power, which is understood as a suspension or release condition, but it is reasonable to understand it as a unique constitutional mechanism that restrains the finalization and promulgation of laws for a certain period of time, since the request for reconsideration itself does not actively create a legal effect on whether the bill is confirmed or not.
 The constitutional function of the presidential veto has been recognized to be the procedural control of rushed, frivolous, or flawed legislation but it is noteworthy to growing focus is given to the presidential check on the National Assembly to promote the balance of power. As the function of the veto has been expanded, there has been a strengthening tendency to argue that there are no legal limitations on the requirements for its exercise so that it can be used out of policy disagreement or political motivation alone. Against this tendency, counter arguments have been consistently put forward that there should be inherent limitation on the exercise of the veto power so that it can be justified only if the target legislation is (1) unconstitutional, (2) unenforceable, (3) contrary to the national interest, and (4) politically motivated to exert political pressure by unreasonably restricting executive power in violation of the separation of powers. I conclude that the inherent limitation theory is preferred when considering the compatibility of the basic values, principles, and institutions of a democratic republic, the constitutional implications of the constitutional power structure, and the relative persuasiveness and logical consistency of the arguments. Above all, considering that the legislative power is an inherent function of the National Assembly in accordance with the principle of separation of powers, which is a universal principle that cannot be denied regardless any form of government, and that the veto power is a procedural controlling power, not a substantive formative power, even according to the systematic interpretation of democracy and the rule of law, and that its legitimacy is to control the evils such as legislative dictatorship, not to replace the legislative power, the constitutional principles of a democratic republic cannot justify that the legislative power is neutralized by the abuse of the presidential veto leading to the presidential administrative dictatorship.
 Even if there is an inherent limit in the exercise of presidential veto power, there is a problem that this limit is a ‘political morality of the constitution’ rather than a ‘law of the constitution’ where normative power can be enforced through judicial procedures, and there is no possibility of external control such as judicial review or constitutional adjudication.

Parliamentarians and Normative Power Diffusion

Abstract Are parliamentarians involved in normative power diffusion? This case study of Japanese parliamentarians’ international activities shows how they engage in international norm diffusion at interparliamentary meetings in a way that multiplies the normative power efforts of Japan’s government. While parliamentarians are neither official foreign policy actors nor diplomats, they actively promote topics that support Japan’s normative power interests and employ mechanisms identified for normative power diffusion. Thus, parliamentarians become multipliers of Japan’s normative power efforts and have the ability to reach legislators in Japan’s key partner countries. This paper argues that, when abroad, Japanese legislators adopt the identity of an international representative of Japan, who supports promoting Japan’s interests in various areas, such as climate change, overseas agricultural investments, or regional financial stability.

Framing the Impacts of the European Green Deal: Reflections on the EU as a "Normative Power" and Beyond

The growing use of fossil fuels and rising greenhouse gas emissions have become critical issues in world politics. The European Union (EU) Green Deal offers to make Europe “the first climate-neutral continent” by 2050. The Green Deal seeks to transform the EU into a resource-efficient, competitive, circular economy. As a normative power in international politics, the EU can influence other actors’ behaviours, which makes it an international norm diffuser. In this sense, the “normative power Europe” concept matches the role of the Green Deal. This article examines if and how the EU Green Deal is a successful tool to maintain the EU’s role as a normative power during carbon neutrality, addressing the opportunities and challenges of the EU Green Deal.

What Makes Requests Normative? The Epistemic Account Defended

This paper defends the epistemic account of the normativity of requests. The epistemic account says that a request does not create any reasons and thus does not have any special normative power. Rather, a request gives reasons by revealing information which is normatively relevant. I argue that compared to competing accounts of request normativity, especially those of David Enoch and James H.P. Lewis, the epistemic account gives better answers to cases of insincere requests, is simpler, and does a better job incorporating the importance of relationships. I also defend the epistemic account from three objections: that requests are important because they constitute consent, that requests and wishes must be normatively different, and that some requests do not provide any new information.

Construction of “Normative power Europe”: A critical analysis of the human rights narratives in Spanish media discourses on the European Union

The conceptualization of the EU as a normative power has become a central theoretical framework in the field of European studies. This concept highlights the EU’s role in the promotion of normative principles, particularly those concerning its core values as laid out in article 2 of the Lisbon Treaty: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights. While the majority of academic works on NPE have mostly focused on the EU’s external action, there is a growing trend to apply this concept to the study of member States that challenge the core values of the EU. This paper takes a step further in that endeavor through the analysis of Spanish media discourses on the EU, and their role in the discursive construction of the EU as a normative power, both internally and externally. Specifically, our research focuses on how the EU’s commitment to human rights norms and the rule of law are reflected in dominant media discourses on the EU in Spanish media. To conduct our study, six national Spanish media outlets were selected based on the following criteria: Ownership; ideology; consumption; and impact. A final sample of 540 news items published between July 2021 and March 2022 were selected for analysis. Using a qualitative methodological approach that includes content analysis and critical discourse analysis, we analyzed the major discourses identified in relation to the EU, focusing on those in which the construction (or deconstruction) of the EU as a normative power is more prevalent. We also attempted to unfold how this construction is projected internally and externally.

FOSTERING RESILIENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA: THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The study of EU policy towards Central Asia is important for understanding the nature of the integration project itself. The programs implemented by the European Union in Central Asia is very important in terms of developing its potential in the international arena, the ability to turn its «normative power» and economic power into political influence. Central Asian countries’ cooperation with the EU in its development has passed through several phases. The current period seeks to consolidate and expand the EU’s position in Central Asia. The EU as a reliable partner has a strong interest in seeing Central Asia as a stable, rules-based and connected area. According to the new 2019 Strategy, the goal of the EU is foster resilience through knowledge-sharing (training, monitoring, mentoring and advising) and financial aid. Resilience is a main message in this strategy. The EU policy is aimed at transforming Central Asian states in accordance with its own vision and interests. The EU connects this ultimate goal with the democratic and economic development of Central Asia and this indicates that normative component of the EU foreign policy is still crucial one. Such approach implemented within the framework of various formats does not always achieve its goal and faces resistance from national elites.

북한의 권력구조 변화와 헌법개정에 관한 상관성 고찰

The Constitution of North Korea was enacted and promulgated on September 8, 1948 as the People's Democratic Constitution, and the Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was newly adopted on December 27, 1972, including the 2019 Constitution, which did not guarantee basic human rights such as life, liberty, and property of all people, or operate as a norm to control and limit the supreme power of the state. From a legal normative perspective, North Korea's supreme authority exists beyond the constitution and is not bound by the law, and he has no real limits to the exercise of his constitutional powers. It can be said to be a state system in which the policies of the party and the state and the state's official governance system, such as the constitution, must coincide with the will of the leader, the sole leader. Likewise South Korean rulers in the past amended the Constitution with political intentions to prolong the regime, this paper attempted to examine what the political implications of the supreme power in North Korea's constitutional amendment there were, and find out what role the Constitution played in establishing the hereditary system leading to Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong Un. In addition, it was a question about the North Korea system, how it gave legitimacy to the power succession by using the constitutional normative power for the unique national hereditary succession by blood in the socialist system. For this purpose, in particular, this paper employed North Korea's 1992 constitutional amendment, Kim Jong-il's succession to power, Kim Il-sung's posthumous rule and 1998 constitution, and Kim Jong-il's posthumous Kim Il-sung--Kim Jong-il's constitution as the main subject of research. To understand the correlation between changes in the power structure of North Korea and the constitution, this paper tried to investigate first of all, what there are in the contents of the constitutional paving stone for the succession of Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong Un, and find out Kim Jong-il's posthumous rule developed after Kim Il-sung's death and the intention of constitutionalization work for the deceased Kim Il-sung, and examine how the constitutional acceptance of the newly emerged state guidance guidelines was along with the hereditary succession of state power, and what intention there was in the constitutional reflection of the governing philosophy by deleting the previous highest state position and changing the new state position. It was because of the political intention shown in the amendment of the North Korea Constitution and the desire to approach the practical legal and normative environment of North Korea.

The Concept of Awkward Powers in Foreign Relations

This paper addresses a specific phenomenon concerning power concepts in‎ Canadian and EU foreign policies. As is widely known, the liberal-democratic ‎platform has dominated global relations after the end of the Cold War. Implemented ‎power approaches are studied from theoretical perspectives of liberalism/‎constructivism standpoints and their realist critique. Canada has been ‎presented mostly as a middle power in international relations trying to find‎ its specific role as a mediator and balancer among superpowers. On the other ‎hand, the EU is classified predominantly as a normative power with tendencies ‎to act as a great power from some point of view. In the paper, we analyse ‎both entities through the recent concept of ‘awkward power’, whereby states ‎have a so-called “dubious character”, acting in-between the potential of great‎ and middle powers.‎

Nakedly Normative: A Feminist (Re‐)Imagination of Planetary Politics

AbstractThis article makes the case for a feminist (re‐)imagination of planetary politics in the context of the normative power approach and Manners' opening article in this special section. Arguing for an urgent turn to a politics that embraces the whole of the planet, we ask: How can we build processes and political structures that equip us with what is needed to manage those tests now faced by the planet? We apply a critical feminist lens to argue that the potential of a normative power approach in realising a planetary politics, so challenging anthropocentrism, can only be fulfilled if political and societal actors embrace four ‘Es’: ethic of care, empathy, emancipation and equity. The cosmopolity envisioned is premised on our ability to ‘see’, ‘hear’, question – perhaps even break with – the disciplining and bounding effects of the disciplines that feed into European studies.

Evaluating the impact of the EU’s normative message of the “EU as a model” on external public perceptions: an experimental study in Israel

ABSTRACT This article analyses whether the EU’s normative idea, as embedded in the idea of the “EU as a model”, influences external public perceptions of its normative message; in other words, does exposure to the story of how the EU emerged from the ashes of World War II to become a community of peace and security impact public views of the EU as a normative power? To examine these questions, a population-based survey experiment was conducted in Israel – a country with contradictory relations with the EU. The findings are clear and straightforward: exposure to the “EU as model” message increased recognition of the normative actorness of the EU. This impact holds when controlling and interacting with the exposure to various cultural filters which are key factors in shaping views of the EU like political attitudes. The implications of these findings for EU studies and public diplomacy as well as the potential contribution of the approach proposed in this article are discussed.

Who belongs to the swiss body politique—A diaspora perspective

In this paper, I try to better understand the intersection between “integration” in legal terms, and how long-term resident “non-citizens” and migrants from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) situate themselves in narratives of belonging vis a vis the normative power structure that constitutes the Swiss body politique. More specifically, how do labor and forced migrants from former Yugoslavia negotiate the shifting understanding of “integration” in Switzerland in legal and social terms? Former Yugoslavs constitute not only a comparatively large number of “non-citizens” in Switzerland, but individuals from-and-with-connections to this community also embody numerous labels and categories of migrant that statistical databases, the media, and legal practices attach to them since the 1970s. Key findings in this paper illustrate a two-tiered narrative: “non-citizens” seemed to have maintain(ed) their pursuit of not attracting attention to their persona—a strategy that allowed individuals to disappear within the larger society. Ensuing Europeanization processes, coupled with the Wars of Yugoslav Succession during the 1990s, however, brought to the fore “a politics of rupture” that called into question othering processes, and the seemingly tightening sociolegal basis of belonging to the Swiss body politique. Hitherto examined data suggests that interlocutors pursue a “positive essentialist frame” to counter exclusionary narratives “non-citizens” experience to postulate “rights claims”. Interviewees, in other words, activate diaspora connections and networks to support and aid each other when legal and socio-political questions arise, but also to actively influence the political and legal landscape in Switzerland.

The wrong of mercenarism: a promissory account

The wrong of mercenarism: a promissory account

Arrival of Normative Power in Planetary Politics

AbstractThis lead article in a JCMS symposium marking 20 years of normative power provides a prospective intervention into thinking through the rest of the century by taking the language of Arrival, the 2016 speculative fiction film based on Ted Chiang's 1998 short ‘Story of Your Life’ and applying it to normative power by double‐decolonising the anthropocentrism of capitalist culture and Eurocentrism in order to arrive at planetary politics. The article will first reflect on the 20‐year development of the normative power approach to arrive at a language of comprehension. The subsequent sections will then set out a mode of simultaneous awareness, a medium of sharing relationships and a means for action in concert found in the normative power approach before concluding on how planetary symbiosis is the story of our lives.