Motives of The European Union on imposing sanctions:an analysis of normativity

Official URL: https://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b2486562_(Table of contents)

There has been a vast amount of theories that aimed to explain what kind of a power the European Union is. One concept that has been a subject to many discussions, is, the Normative Power Europe theory by Ian Manners, which pictures the EU as a global power that functions in respect of its internalized norms. This theory is mainly derived from the idea that the Union utilizes ‘normative tools’ for ‘normative goals’ and the strictest policy it applies in its foreign affairs is its sanctions policy. Like many global powers, the Union has been imposing sanctions increasingly and throughout time it has managed to tailor a unified policy based on common goals. The European rhetoric argues that these measures are applied with the motivation of aligning wrongdoers with the European norms. Yet, an in-depth analysis of the EU’s relations with certain norm transgressor states demonstrates that the motives behind taking such restrictive measures do not always have to be normative. This thesis will examine the motives of the European Union on imposing sanctions by analyzing its relations with three norms transgressors; Iran, Russia and Israel. By doing so, it will suggest that the cost and benefit calculations are considerably relevant and must not be neglected when it comes to the Union’s decisions of imposing sanctions