1st Edition
The European Union's Africa Policies Norms, Interests and Impact
The European Union (EU) is a key partner for African regional organizations and a major promoter of economic and political integration in the region. Several studies have interpreted the EU's role in Africa as either a self-interested hegemonic actor or as a value oriented normative power. In this volume, Daniela Sicurelli challenges these views by taking a closer look at Europe's policies towards Sub-Saharan Africa in the area of peacekeeping, trade and development, and environmental protection. Using fresh empirical evidence, including interviews with both European and African officials, she argues that the EU is far from becoming a unitary player in Africa. Lacking a clear strategy and coherent normative framework, the EU should be considered a multi-level actor, where national and supranational institutions have different interests and push forward contrasting views of what role Europe should play in Africa. The ability of single institutions to frame an issue as requiring either intergovernmental or supranational procedures appears crucial for shaping the content of European Africa policies. An original contribution to the growing literature on the EU as an international actor, this book is extremely useful to scholars, researchers and policy-makers demanding critical work in the field of EU-Africa policy.
Biography
Daniela Sicurelli is Lecturer in International Relations at the Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento, Italy.
'This comprehensive study of EU-African relations covers a great deal of important ground and is a must read for anyone interested in the complicated relationship which exists between the EU, its member-states, and African regional and sub-regional organizations. It will interest anyone concerned with the intra-EU political dynamics which have shaped the EU-Africa relationship. The comparison of EU and US policies is particularly welcome. By examining both the economic and security dimensions of the EU-Africa relationship, the volume provides an excellent overview of the EU’s differentiated efforts to encourage regional cooperation within Africa.' Alberta Sbragia, European Studies Center , University of Pittsburg, USA 'Daniela Sicurelli effortlessly combines interviews, a comprehensive review of the literature and a solid theoretical conceptual framework to produce a well balanced and critical overview of the EU's competencies, external relations, policies, and their impact in Africa. A valuable contribution to both European Integration Studies and African studies.' Mario Telò, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium '...represents an excellent addition to the under-researched field of EU development policy, but more generally makes a significant contribution to the literature assessing the distinctive role of the EU in the international arena.' Maurizio Carbone, University of Glasgow, UK.
