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Putting the Partnership DNA to the Test: Partnerships in the EU Global Strategy and the Consequences for India

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EU-India Relations

Part of the book series: Contributions to International Relations ((CIR))

Abstract

Building partnerships lies in the EU’s DNA. This frequently repeated statement also applies to the EU Global Strategy. The strategy is both an assessment of the EU’s current situation in international relations and a plan for a successful future. However, it is not an objective description, but rather reflects the EU’s perceptions of itself, its environment and the actors involved. This is of particular interest with respect to India, as the strategic partner’s expectations have been disappointed by the EUGS. Therefore, this contribution aims to examine these perceptions in relation to the EU’s partnerships. To this end, the aspects of the strategy that deal with the EU’s relations to third actors will be scrutinised, and thereby, the role that the EU would like to play internationally and how it wants to be perceived is highlighted. The Global Strategy is thus also a contribution to the discourse on the EU as an international actor. For this reason, the analysis is linked to the five main discourses on Civilian-, Military-, Normative-, Superpower-, and Empire Europe. This chapter shows that, when it comes to its partnerships, the EUGS most likely refers to the approach of “Normative Power as Hegemony” by Thomas Diez.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Regarding the mutual perceptions of India and the European Union see the contribution of Winand in this volume. For two examples on how different interpretations of international norms affect EU–India relations see the contribution of Lowinger et al. in this volume.

  2. 2.

    The 14 concepts are: trade, market, realist, global, liberal, ethical, idiot, peace, transformative, integrative, pragmatic and ideal power as well as the capabilities–expectations gap. These will not be part of this paper, because the main discourses offer a better explanation of the EU’s perceptions on its agreements and partnerships.

  3. 3.

    For example, this can be seen in his discussion with Thomas Diez, who questions the singularity of the EU as a normative power and calls for greater attention to “othering” and self-reflexivity Diez (2005). Although Manners (2006b) initially contradicts him on many points, he sees the importance of reflexivity for his approach. Over time, both authors were able to bring their views together Manners and Diez (2008).

  4. 4.

    This is also true for some of the secondary discourses that are not included in this contribution.

  5. 5.

    Regarding the consistency of EU Global Strategy and EU–India Strategy see the contributions of Aspengren and Nordenstam and Winn in this volume.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Manuel Pietzko

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  1. Manuel Pietzko
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Political Science and Sociology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Philipp Gieg

  2. Institute of Political Science and Sociology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Timo Lowinger

  3. Institute of Political Science and Sociology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Manuel Pietzko

  4. Institute of Political Science and Sociology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Anja Zürn

  5. Centre for European Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

    Ummu Salma Bava

  6. Institute of Political Science and Sociology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Gisela Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet

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Pietzko, M. (2021). Putting the Partnership DNA to the Test: Partnerships in the EU Global Strategy and the Consequences for India. In: Gieg, P., Lowinger, T., Pietzko, M., Zürn, A., Bava, U.S., Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet, G. (eds) EU-India Relations. Contributions to International Relations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65044-5_5

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