The Soft Power of the EU:
The Promotion of Normative Values through the European Neighborhood Policy
Keywords:
Soft power, Normative values, European Neighbourhood Policy, Effectiveness of foreign policy, Receiver stateAbstract
Looking at the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) which has promoted the European Union’s normative values, this article explores the approach and effectiveness of the soft power of the European Union. The article adopts Joseph S. Nye's soft power definition for better understandings of characteristics of soft power which is crucial for this analysis. The ENP is analyzed in terms of its original purposes, mechanisms and instruments for policy implementation. Moreover, this article will also assess the effectiveness of the policy, based on two case studies of EU neighbor states, Ukraine and Tunisia, which are ENP partners. This article argues that the ENP’s effectiveness in promoting normative values of the European Union is inadequate due to the fact that it cannot attract the partners to adopt its norms.
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