英文摘要 |
Historically the Union has never excelled in hard power, nor struggled to gain leverage from its economic weight, but it has been widely acclaimed and self-acclaimed a normative power, an ideological power, a leader by example. Europe's normative identity originates in pursuing its normative power externally through its foreign policy. More importantly however, only by internally acting as a role model can Europe be considered a normative power. This paper argues that European normative power effectiveness in human rights in China remains limited. First, it claims that a conceptual divergence between Europe and China remains an important factor hampering effectiveness. The two sides embrace different values in their development; Europe insists on democracy, rule of law and human rights, and China on sovereignty and non-interference. Second, the paper maintains that Europe's fragmented foreign policy continues to present challenges in the pursuit of human rights, whereby its principled narrative is not followed through. As a result, difficulties persist in establishing effective European institutional coordination to put the narrative into practice, leading to fragmented policies that Beijing has exploited to its own benefit. Third, the paper claims that the series of crises within and beyond Europe's borders have put further pressure on Europe's power of example, and therefore its ability to pursue human rights. In spite of these limitations however, the paper reveals that a principled European human rights narrative has gradually taken shape regarding China, with Europe's increasing role as an international actor, the result of the common efforts and contributions of European institutions. |