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Human Rights in EU Free Trade Agreements with ASEAN States. Expectations and perspectives from Thailand

Kaack, Simon LU (2023) MRSM15 20231
Human Rights Studies
Abstract
With an increasing number of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between the European
Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries as well
as a greater EU focus on human rights in supply chains, analysis of recent and emerging
agreements is a valuable gauge. This analysis is based on existing EU agreements with
Singapore and Vietnam, as well as ongoing negotiations with Thailand. For the former, a
primary data corpus of treaty documents is subjected to a qualitative and quantitative
content analysis, the Thai case is covered by semi-structured expert interviews with
relevant stakeholders from ministries, CSOs, trade unions and academia. This thesis
argues that different types of human rights are highlighted... (More)
With an increasing number of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between the European
Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries as well
as a greater EU focus on human rights in supply chains, analysis of recent and emerging
agreements is a valuable gauge. This analysis is based on existing EU agreements with
Singapore and Vietnam, as well as ongoing negotiations with Thailand. For the former, a
primary data corpus of treaty documents is subjected to a qualitative and quantitative
content analysis, the Thai case is covered by semi-structured expert interviews with
relevant stakeholders from ministries, CSOs, trade unions and academia. This thesis
argues that different types of human rights are highlighted and prioritised in EU FTAs
with the ASEAN countries of Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Equally, the EU appears
to be a credible human rights actor for Thai stakeholders, however its impact and the
willingness to adapt highly depends on their respective roles. Thus, the paper contributes
both to research on social and environmental perspectives in ASEAN states as well valuedriven
EU policies and norm implications in global trade structures. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Kaack, Simon LU
supervisor
organization
course
MRSM15 20231
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
ASEAN, EU, free trade agreements, human rights, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
language
English
id
9128811
date added to LUP
2023-08-15 13:02:03
date last changed
2023-08-15 13:02:03
@misc{9128811,
  abstract     = {{With an increasing number of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between the European
Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries as well
as a greater EU focus on human rights in supply chains, analysis of recent and emerging
agreements is a valuable gauge. This analysis is based on existing EU agreements with
Singapore and Vietnam, as well as ongoing negotiations with Thailand. For the former, a
primary data corpus of treaty documents is subjected to a qualitative and quantitative
content analysis, the Thai case is covered by semi-structured expert interviews with
relevant stakeholders from ministries, CSOs, trade unions and academia. This thesis
argues that different types of human rights are highlighted and prioritised in EU FTAs
with the ASEAN countries of Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Equally, the EU appears
to be a credible human rights actor for Thai stakeholders, however its impact and the
willingness to adapt highly depends on their respective roles. Thus, the paper contributes
both to research on social and environmental perspectives in ASEAN states as well valuedriven
EU policies and norm implications in global trade structures.}},
  author       = {{Kaack, Simon}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Human Rights in EU Free Trade Agreements with ASEAN States. Expectations and perspectives from Thailand}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}