The thesis examines the effects on the EU’s normative power on the ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China. The analysis applies a social constructivist framework to...Show moreThe thesis examines the effects on the EU’s normative power on the ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China. The analysis applies a social constructivist framework to test whether there are causal links between the EU’s commitment to its core norms and values and the stagnating ratification of the CAI in light of human rights violations in China. The research aims to answer to the question: What explains the lack of consensus over the ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China? Using process tracing, the thesis examines the Human Rights Dialogue, China’s Compliance with International Human Rights Law, sanctions and the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime as causal mechanisms. The thesis concludes that the EU’s normative power has been one of the key reasons behind that the fact the CAI has not yet been ratified.Show less