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Towards a reflexive study of norms, norm diffusion and identity (re-)construction: The transformative power of the EU in the Western Balkans

Björkdahl, Annika LU (2012) In Canterbury Law Review 18(4). p.33-51
Abstract
The “constructivist turn” in International Relations has enhanced our understanding of the power of ideational phenomena such as ideas, norms and identity in world politics . This turn also paved the way for debates on normative power and norm transfer, which have proved to offer fruitful insights into EU normative power and the EU’s identity as an international actor. Exploring the modes of governance the EU claims to use instead of so-called “hard power”, as well as others’ perceptions of the normative power of the EU are now well-established research areas in EU studies. Ten years after the “Normative Power Europe” approach (NPE) was coined by Ian Manners , it seems time to revisit NPE and the constructivist turn in International... (More)
The “constructivist turn” in International Relations has enhanced our understanding of the power of ideational phenomena such as ideas, norms and identity in world politics . This turn also paved the way for debates on normative power and norm transfer, which have proved to offer fruitful insights into EU normative power and the EU’s identity as an international actor. Exploring the modes of governance the EU claims to use instead of so-called “hard power”, as well as others’ perceptions of the normative power of the EU are now well-established research areas in EU studies. Ten years after the “Normative Power Europe” approach (NPE) was coined by Ian Manners , it seems time to revisit NPE and the constructivist turn in International Relations . This article hopes to add to the promising developments by critically exploring the relationship between processes of norm diffusion and identity (re-)construction (Risse and Wiener 2001; Diez 2005; Börtzel and Risse 2012a; 2012b). Three strands of research provide us with a critical understanding of the relationship between EU norm export and local agency in norm import and in the construction of a European identity. The analysis is informed by social constructivism, taps into the rich literature on EU identity and Europeanness, while scratching the surface of the body of literature on norm diffusion (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
norms, identity, normative power, EU, Western Balkans
in
Canterbury Law Review
volume
18
issue
4
pages
33 - 51
publisher
University of Canterbury * School of Law
ISSN
0112-0581
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0c80afa0-1b2f-455c-bd84-2f2557c518fd (old id 3731863)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:25:07
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:26:37
@article{0c80afa0-1b2f-455c-bd84-2f2557c518fd,
  abstract     = {{The “constructivist turn” in International Relations has enhanced our understanding of the power of ideational phenomena such as ideas, norms and identity in world politics . This turn also paved the way for debates on normative power and norm transfer, which have proved to offer fruitful insights into EU normative power and the EU’s identity as an international actor. Exploring the modes of governance the EU claims to use instead of so-called “hard power”, as well as others’ perceptions of the normative power of the EU are now well-established research areas in EU studies. Ten years after the “Normative Power Europe” approach (NPE) was coined by Ian Manners , it seems time to revisit NPE and the constructivist turn in International Relations . This article hopes to add to the promising developments by critically exploring the relationship between processes of norm diffusion and identity (re-)construction (Risse and Wiener 2001; Diez 2005; Börtzel and Risse 2012a; 2012b). Three strands of research provide us with a critical understanding of the relationship between EU norm export and local agency in norm import and in the construction of a European identity. The analysis is informed by social constructivism, taps into the rich literature on EU identity and Europeanness, while scratching the surface of the body of literature on norm diffusion}},
  author       = {{Björkdahl, Annika}},
  issn         = {{0112-0581}},
  keywords     = {{norms; identity; normative power; EU; Western Balkans}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{33--51}},
  publisher    = {{University of Canterbury * School of Law}},
  series       = {{Canterbury Law Review}},
  title        = {{Towards a reflexive study of norms, norm diffusion and identity (re-)construction: The transformative power of the EU in the Western Balkans}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}