NOT QUITE ‘SUI GENERIS’ ENOUGH

ABSTRACT

The debate about the role of the EU in international politics is dominated by the characterisation of the EU as a normative power. In this article, I argue that there are fundamental tensions between the core values that the EU is supposed to embody and articulate in this context. In a first step, I introduce democracy and justice as two exemplary values associated with European integration and introduce the argument about the tensions between these values, which I largely take from the so-called English School of International Relations. This then serves as a basis for exploring these tensions in relation to two illustrative cases: EU-Turkey relations and the control of the external EU (or, to be more precise, Schengen) border. I conclude that the EU's often-invoked character as a ‘post-modern’ political system may well apply to its internal configuration, but much less so to its external relations. It thus cannot escape the normative tensions inherent to a territorially configured international society.

Keywords:

• European integration
• foreign policy
• normative power
• international society
• democracy

Acknowledgements

A previous version of this paper was presented at the 2010 ISA Annual Convention, New Orleans, 16–20 February 2010, and at the ARENA Seminar, Oslo, 9 March 2010. For comments, I am grateful to the ISA panel discussant, Joachim Koops, my co-panellists and the audiences at ISA and ARENA, as well as Richard McMahon and the two reviewers of this journal. The research assistance of Julia Grauvogel in preparing the previous version of this paper is gratefully acknowledged.