Portraying Normative Legitimacy: The EU in Need of Institutional Safeguards for Human Rights

Abstract

This article explores the politics of European security policies from a human rights perspective. It argues that internal and external security policies are chiefly related through their joint and intertwined impact on the perceived legitimacy of the EU's normative demands on third countries. Building on a theoretical exploration of the normative power Europe concept, its applicability in practice is analysed by looking at three key developments: the EU's response to the allegation of some of its member states supporting extraordinary renditions by the USA; the recent establishment of the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency; and the partial suspension of a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in response to the excessive and indiscriminate use of force by Uzbek security forces in Andijan in 2005. In all three cases the EU's actions lack consistency and are guided chiefly by political considerations of its member states rather than by a principled approach. It is concluded that the EU's objective to export human rights and democratic values through the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the external dimension of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice – that is to exercise normative power on justice and home security affairs – is hampered by a failure to develop institutional structures that ensure consistent and transparent monitoring and promotion of human rights.

Key Words:

• Human rights
• legitimacy
• Fundamental Rights Agency
• extraordinary renditions
• human rights dialogue

Acknowledgements

The author Katrin Kinzelbach gratefully acknowledges a research grant from the Volkswagen Foundation.

Notes

¹ While acknowledging debates about the universality of human rights norms as well as concerns about an ideological imperialism of the West, the choice of human rights law as an expression of the applicable normative reference framework can be considered indisputable from the perspective of international law, where human rights norms have acquired binding status through ratification of treaties. See also Franck (1990) and his theory of legal legitimacy.

² Non-attributable interview with EU official, 10 October 2008.

³ According to the Uzbek government, 189 people were killed; human rights groups estimate the number of dead closer to 800. See Sikorskaya (2008).

⁴ Non-attributable interview with official in EU member state, 25 June 2008.

⁵ Non-attributable interview with EU official, 20 February 2008.

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ According to a non-attributable interview with an EU official (18 October 2007), there appears to be some form of coordination among third countries that have a human rights dialogue with the EU because they not only mention similar arguments to justify their practices but also refer to the very same individual cases when criticizing the EU on its human rights record, typically in the area of racism and anti-discrimination.