Normative power Europe and migration: Cooperation with third countries

Official URL: https://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b2486554_(Table of contents)

After the Cold War, scholars have focused on the external identity of the European Union where several conceptualizations have been added in the literature. One of the concepts is Normative Power Europe. The NPE means that the Union is able to change the actions of other actors by using ‘ideas’ that are based on norms and values. According to the definition, the EU acts in line with norms and values as well. Nevertheless, empirical studies related to the NPE have demonstrated that this conceptualization might fall short. Particularly, in the case of migration, the shortcomings of the Union have been visible. However, the cooperation agreements with third countries have received little attention within the NPE literature. This thesis aims to give answers to the question of whether the cooperation agreements with third countries on the issue of migration damage the NPE or not and if so, how. This thesis provides two different cases where the normativity is examined through the agreements between the EU and Turkey, and the agreements between Italy and Libya. The thesis concludes that the NPE has been damaged due to the cooperation agreements with third countries. The rights of migrants, Conventions, and Directives are violated in order to secure the external borders of the Union with the help of undemocratic regimes. The findings of this study also support the view that norms and interests function differently, therefore, these should be separated from each other