Translating sustainable fishing norms: the EU’s external relations with Ghana

Abstract

This article solves the puzzle of why developing countries such as Ghana are responsive to the European Union’s (EU) promotion of sustainable fishing despite the fragmentation and contestation of environmental norms. Analysing the EU–Ghana interaction with rationalist and constructivist perspectives on norm diffusion, this article reveals EU counterparts’ motivations for domestic fisheries reforms. It argues that although the EU exercises both ‘normative power’ and ‘market power’ to encourage sustainable fishing, EU partners are more reactive to the manipulation of material benefits associated with the European market access. By highlighting such motivations, and thus the relational aspect of EU power, this article also contributes to the EU-as-a-power debate from the often-overlooked perspective of EU partners. The findings capture the characteristics of EU influence and further illuminate the fisheries policymaking and collective action mobilisation needed for broader environmental protection.

Keywords:

• Normative power Europe
• market power Europe
• norm translation
• sustainable fishing
• Ghana
• illegal fishing

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Cecilia Jacob, Mathew Davies, Editor Shahid Qadir and the anonymous reviewers, especially Reviewer 2, for their very constructive comments on the previous draft. Any mistakes in the article are solely the author’s.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Manners (2002) traces the development of core and minor guiding principles since the 1950s as the EU’s normative basis. The core principles are peace, liberty, democracy, rule of law and human rights. The minor principles are social solidarity, anti-discrimination, sustainable development and good governance.

2 Ghana Web is the primary online archive used. It contains news articles dating back as far as 1995. See https://www.ghanaweb.com.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ruji Auethavornpipat

Ruji Auethavornpipat is Research Fellow at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, the Australian National University. His core research interests are driven by the contestation of global migrant protection norms at sites of implementation, especially in Thailand and Southeast Asia. His work examining the EU’s external relations on sustainable fishing and forced migrant labour was published in Global Change, Peace & Security in 2017. He is currently researching democracy and human rights promotion as part of the ‘Supporting the Rules-Based Order in Southeast Asia’ (SEARBO) project, funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.