Bullettin n. 1/2011
June 2011
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Ferreira Nunes Isabel
    Civilian, Normative, and Ethical Power Europe: Role Claims and EU Discourses
    in European Foreign Affairs Review , vol. 16, issue 1 ,  2011 ,  1-20
    ABSTRACT: In the first part, the article reviews and discusses the debate about civilian, normative, and ethical power Europe concerning the international role claims identified in the literature. In the second part, it tests these claims against the European Union (EU or hereinafter ‘Union’) official discourse, regarding the European security dimension. The empirical work is conducted by analysing three main aspects: EU international actorness, the militarization of the Union, and the securitization of ‘new’ threats (terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and violent conflicts). The article suggests that civilian, normative, and ethical powers are defining features of the EU security actorness mirroring the set of international roles performed by the Union. The international roles claimed in the literature, although being important features of the EU’s identity, are not articulated in the official discourse as separate dimensions of the EU actorness. Those roles are closely connected to the principles endorsed, to the consensus reached, and to the material means made available to the Union’s external action. The study acknowledges that these international roles are consistent with the development of new European security responsibilities, being utilized in the EU official discourse as instrumental frames that help to strengthen European identity and to justify actorness.
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