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Of Carrots and Sticks

Göbel, Sarah LU and Malmer, Erlend (2017) STVA22 20171
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Abstract
The European Union is unique in the sense that it promotes human rights and labour rights
through its trade policies and agreements. The EU is the world’s largest economy and it plays an
important role in today’s world trade. Through the inclusion of human rights and labour rights
clauses in the EU’s common external trade policy and its Generalised scheme of preferences
(GSP), the EU seeks to promote and globally transmit the values of human rights and labour
rights to its trade partner. To do this the EU mainly uses the GSP scheme of preferential trade
and its two connected instruments: positive and negative conditionality. Meaning that the EU in
its trade relations with third countries have the choice of using either... (More)
Abstract
The European Union is unique in the sense that it promotes human rights and labour rights
through its trade policies and agreements. The EU is the world’s largest economy and it plays an
important role in today’s world trade. Through the inclusion of human rights and labour rights
clauses in the EU’s common external trade policy and its Generalised scheme of preferences
(GSP), the EU seeks to promote and globally transmit the values of human rights and labour
rights to its trade partner. To do this the EU mainly uses the GSP scheme of preferential trade
and its two connected instruments: positive and negative conditionality. Meaning that the EU in
its trade relations with third countries have the choice of using either political dialogue and
incentives for further trade which is positive conditionality , or the choice of using economic
sanctions and partial preferential withdrawals, being negative conditionality .
This research will look specifically at forced labour in Sri Lanka and Myanmar1 and try to
evaluate whether the EU’s positive or negative conditionality, in the two cases, are more
effective in promoting Labour rights than the other. There are many scholars in the field of
political science criticize and argue that EU’s GSP scheme is both ineffective and inconsistent,
as well as selective in its use of the conditionalities. This research however, argues that EU’s
GSP scheme in terms of positive conditionality actually is more effective in the long-term
improvement of labour rights in both Sri Lanka and Myanmar. It therefore concludes that the
positive conditionality of the EU’s GSP scheme, even though it at times due the very nature of
conditionality came down to a very fine line, has been the more effective instrument in
promoting Labour rights in Sri Lanka and Myanmar. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Göbel, Sarah LU and Malmer, Erlend
supervisor
organization
alternative title
The EU's normative approach
course
STVA22 20171
year
type
L2 - 2nd term paper (old degree order)
subject
keywords
EU, Positive and Negative Conditionality, GSP Scheme, Labour rights, Effectiveness, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
language
English
id
8907374
date added to LUP
2017-06-27 15:18:08
date last changed
2017-06-27 15:18:08
@misc{8907374,
  abstract     = {{Abstract
The European Union is unique in the sense that it promotes human rights and labour rights
through its trade policies and agreements. The EU is the world’s largest economy and it plays an
important role in today’s world trade. Through the inclusion of human rights and labour rights
clauses in the EU’s common external trade policy and its Generalised scheme of preferences
(GSP), the EU seeks to promote and globally transmit the values of human rights and labour
rights to its trade partner. To do this the EU mainly uses the GSP scheme of preferential trade
and its two connected instruments: positive and negative conditionality. Meaning that the EU in
its trade relations with third countries have the choice of using either political dialogue and
incentives for further trade which is positive conditionality , or the choice of using economic
sanctions and partial preferential withdrawals, being negative conditionality .
This research will look specifically at forced labour in Sri Lanka and Myanmar1 and try to
evaluate whether the EU’s positive or negative conditionality, in the two cases, are more
effective in promoting Labour rights than the other. There are many scholars in the field of
political science criticize and argue that EU’s GSP scheme is both ineffective and inconsistent,
as well as selective in its use of the conditionalities. This research however, argues that EU’s
GSP scheme in terms of positive conditionality actually is more effective in the long-term
improvement of labour rights in both Sri Lanka and Myanmar. It therefore concludes that the
positive conditionality of the EU’s GSP scheme, even though it at times due the very nature of
conditionality came down to a very fine line, has been the more effective instrument in
promoting Labour rights in Sri Lanka and Myanmar.}},
  author       = {{Göbel, Sarah and Malmer, Erlend}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Of Carrots and Sticks}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}