Normative Power Europe: Ideational factors in EU’s foreign policies towards China and China’s perceptions

Ideational factors, which range from democracy to human rights, from sustainable peace to multilateralism, have long played an important role in the European Union’s (EU) foreign policies toward China, with a wide range of issues that could be found in recent decades such as the arms embargo, resolutions critical of China’s human rights in United Nations Commission of Human Rights (UNCHR), and many other fields in EU-China relations. Despite the significance of ideational factors, it is tempting but premature to conclude that the EU’s external policies towards China have been dominated by normative power. The policy preference of the EU towards China is affected by the role of institutions in facilitating the emergence of a sense of community based on shared norms, interests and a common identity. Yet EU positions, decision and actions in the world are produced as the result of often complex interactions in a multi-level system, involving the member states singly and collectively,...Show moreIdeational factors, which range from democracy to human rights, from sustainable peace to multilateralism, have long played an important role in the European Union’s (EU) foreign policies toward China, with a wide range of issues that could be found in recent decades such as the arms embargo, resolutions critical of China’s human rights in United Nations Commission of Human Rights (UNCHR), and many other fields in EU-China relations. Despite the significance of ideational factors, it is tempting but premature to conclude that the EU’s external policies towards China have been dominated by normative power. The policy preference of the EU towards China is affected by the role of institutions in facilitating the emergence of a sense of community based on shared norms, interests and a common identity. Yet EU positions, decision and actions in the world are produced as the result of often complex interactions in a multi-level system, involving the member states singly and collectively, as well as the common institutions. Would such complex interactions bring some kind of convergence in a normative European policy towards China? How does China respond to the emergence of ideational factors in bilateral relations? Does China see the EU as a normative power? Thus, social constructivist tools should be applied to analyze the emergence of ideational factors as a consequence of both internal interaction within the EU and external interaction between Europe and China. This study focues on the notion of Normative Power Europe (NPE) by examining the role of ideational factors in EU’s foreign and security policies toward China, as well as China’s perception of EU’s promotions and pressures in these values through case studies. More specifically, the study is a two-step process. The first stage is to explore the different goals of multiple European actors and how these goals interact with normative factors in shaping their foreign policy towards China. In this stage, analytical target is not restricted to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) or European Commission (EC) level, but takes into account member states’ positions and foreign policies toward China. In the second stage, China’s perception of Europe’s normative driven policies will be introduced, by looking into the response of Beijing and relevant literature. This research attempts to explain the lack of a normative convergence in EU and reveal China’s perception in EU’s normative power.Show less

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Normative Power Europe: Ideational factors in EU’s foreign policies towards China and China’s perceptions