The environment as a strategic priority in the European Union-Brazil partnership: is the EU behaving as a normative power or soft imperialist?
The environment as a strategic priority in the European Union-Brazil partnership: is the EU behaving as a normative power or soft imperialist?
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DOI：
10.1007/s10784-013-9232-3
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发表时间：
2014-03-01
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Stringer, Lindsay C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Afionis, Stavros;Stringer, Lindsay C.
2007年，巴西进入欧盟战略伙伴名单;这是对巴西在当前全球事务中所占地位的认可。虽然促进双边环境趋同是一个明确的优先事项，但欧盟与巴西在这一政策领域的合作在很大程度上研究不足，这就提出了一个有趣的问题，即目前的状况是否能够支持欧盟要求其外部环境政策的规范方向。通过对森林砍伐和生物燃料领域的伙伴关系活动的分析，我们认为，虽然规范的意图可能被视为一种激励力量，通过“软帝国主义”透镜批判性地看待欧盟的外交环境政策，可以提供一个更全面的了解双边合作的现状。虽然规范性权力的论点可以证实森林砍伐方面，我们认为，通过设置障碍，以保护其国内生物燃料生产，欧盟是把贸易竞争力和经济增长高于其规范性的愿望。因此，部分采用可持续发展作为欧盟规范导致政策不一致和相互矛盾的行动。
In 2007, Brazil entered the European Union's (EU) list of strategic partners; a token of recognition of the place Brazil occupies in current global affairs. Although promoting bilateral environmental convergence is a stated priority, cooperation between the EU and Brazil in this policy field is largely under-researched, raising interesting questions as to whether the current state of play could support EU claims for the normative orientation of its external environmental policy. Through an analysis of partnership activities in the fields of deforestation and biofuels, we suggest that while normative intentions may be regarded as a motivating force, critically viewing EU foreign environmental policy through a 'soft imperialism' lens could offer a more holistic understanding of the current state of bilateral cooperation. While the normative power thesis can be substantiated with regard to deforestation, we argue that by erecting barriers to shield its domestic biofuels production, the EU is placing trade competitiveness and economic growth above its normative aspirations. Subsequently, the partial adoption of sustainable development as an EU norm leads to policy incoherence and contradictory actions.