Abstract
This chapter explores the EU’s activities comparatively in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and analyzes the EU’s influence in regional politics and the domestic politics of these states. The main focus will be the interaction between the EU and these states’ political actors in both geopolitical and normative terms. What normative impact can the EU exert, given the region’s post-colonial apprehensiveness and its geostrategic distance from Europe? This chapter argues that despite the recent internal political and economic upheavals which create uncertainty about the EU’s future as a global player, the EU’s geopolitical and normative power in these South Asian states remains intact. In fact, the EU has become a critical Western power whose political muscle in the region is utilized by these states to influence both domestic and regional political dynamics and economics. Therefore, exploring the EU’s challenges and opportunities in this geopolitically sensitive region is of utmost importance.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmed, Z. S. (2018). The role of SAARC and EU in managing refugees in South Asia and Beyond: Potential for North-South Cooperation. Global Policy, 9(1), 76–84.
ANI. (2016, September 23). EU may impose sanctions on Pak if human rights violations in Balochistan doesn’t stop. Daily News & Analysis. https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-eu-may-impose-sanctions-on-pak-if-human-rights-violations-in-balochistan-doesn-t-stop-2258069. Accessed 15 January 2020.
Banglanews24.com. (2017, April 28). To fail says foreign buyers single out Bangladesh’s labor safety issues. https://bdnews24.com/business/2017/04/28/tofail-says-foreign-buyers-single-out-bangladesh-labour-safety-issues. Accessed 12 January 2020.
Bruxelles. (2016, December 20). EU-Bangladesh sub-group on good governance and human rights. European Union External Action. https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/17657/eu-bangladesh-sub-group-good-governance-and-human-rights_en. Accessed 8 February 2020.
Cappaert, C., & Qu, L. (2018). From one refugee crisis to the next: The role of the EU in the Rohingya crisis. https://voices.uchicago.edu/euchicago/from-one-refugee-crisis-to-the-next-the-role-of-the-eu-in-the-rohingya-crisis/. Accessed 7 January 2020.
Cassar, A. (2009). European Union aid to Pakistan steadily on the rise. European Union Institute for Security Studies, 1–4.
Daily News & Analysis. (2016, November). Brexit a ‘positive’ for India: Sunil Mittal. Daily News & Analysis. https://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-brexit-a-positive-for-india-sunil-mittal-2270961. Accessed 28 December 2019.
Dawn. (2019, October 23). EU to help boost textile exports. https://www.dawn.com/news/1512370. Accessed 28 December 2019.
Delegation of the EU to Bangladesh. (2016). Bangladesh and the EU. https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/bangladesh/926/bangladesh-and-the-eu_en#Trade+and+Investment+. Accessed 8 January 2020.
Delegation to Pakistan. (2016, October 28). Political and economic relations. Delegation of the European Union to Pakistan. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/archives/delegations/pakistan/eu_pakistan/political_relations/index_en.htm. Accessed 27 January 2020.
ECHO Factsheet. (2016). The Rohingya crisis. European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection.
European Commission. (2019). Countries and regions Bangladesh. Retrieved from European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/bangladesh/. Accessed 10 March 2020.
European Commission, ILO and Government of Bangladesh. (2013). Bangladesh and the EU. Delegation of the EU to Bangladesh. https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/bangladesh/926/bangladesh-and-the-eu_en#Humanitarian+Aid.
European Community. (2013). Bangladesh European Community country strategy paper for the period 2007–2013 [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/node/13378. Accessed 17 January 2020.
Fitriani, E. (2011). Asian perceptions about the EU in the Asia-Europe meeting (ASEM). Asia Europe Journal, 9(1), 43–56.
Francombe, J. (2016, November 21). Contradictions of Brexit overshadow may’s India visit. Global Risk Insights. https://globalriskinsights.com/2016/11/brexit-problems-overshadow-india-visit/. Accessed 16 May 2020.
Gearan, A. (2017, February 10). EU official says relations with US will be ‘Pragmatic’. Washington Post. https://linkgale-com.ezproxy.fiu.edu/apps/doc/A480672535/AONE?u=miam11506&sid=AONE&xid=12252bd7. Accessed 3 January 2020.
Hunzai, S., & Rao, Z. (2020, January 11). How to create a safety net in rural Balochistan. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2020/01/how-to-create-a-safety-net-in-rural-balochistan/. Accessed 13 February 2020.
Jain, R. K., & Sachdeva, G. (2019). India-EU strategic partnership: A new roadmap. Asia Europe Journal, 17(3), 309–325.
Jørgensen, K. E. (2009). The European Union and international organization: A framework for analysis. In J. K. Jørgensen (Ed.), European union and international organizations (pp. 2–19). Routledge.
Kavalski, E. (2016). The EU-India strategic partnership: Neither very strategic, nor much of a partnership. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 29(1), 192–208.
Khorana, S., & Garcia, M. (2013). European Union-India trade negotiations: One step forward, one back? Journal of Common Market Studies, 684–700.
Korski, D. (2007, October 22). In search of the EU’s Pakistan policy. European Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.ecfr.eu/article/in_search_of_the_eus_pakistan_policy. Accessed 23 January 2020.
Kuo, M. (2016, November 10). The end of American world order. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2016/11/the-end-of-american-world-order/. Accessed 30 January 2020.
Manners, I. (2006). European Union ‘normative power’ and the security challenge. European Security, 405–421.
Manners, I. (2012). The European Union’s normative power in global politics. In H. Zimmermann & A. Dur (Eds.), Key controversies in European integration (pp. 192–199). Palgrave Macmillan.
Marshall, D. C. (2019). Human rights abuses in Kashmir: The ultimate impasse to an EU-India free trade agreement. https://ifair.eu/2019/03/16/human-rights-abuses-in-kashmir-the-ultimate-impasse-to-an-eu-india-free-trade-agreement/. Accessed 12 February 2020.
Moorthy, N. S. (2018, July 10). SAARC in coma, China throws another challenging regional initiative. Observer Research Foundation. https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/saarc-in-coma-china-throws-another-challenging-regional-initiative/. Accessed 8 January 2020.
McCormick, J. (2012). Why Europe works. In H. Zimmermann & A. Dur (Eds.), Key controversies in European integration (pp. 11–19). Palgrave Macmillan.
Muenchow-Pohl, B. V. (2012, August 23). EU relations with China and India: Courting the dragon, wooing the elephant. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. https://carnegieendowment.org/2012/08/23/eu-relations-with-china-and-india-courting-dragon-wooing-elephant-pub-49173. Accessed 2 March 2020.
Munir, M., & Shafiq, M. (2017). Trump’s new Afghan strategy: Policy options for Pakistan. Journal of Contemporary Studies, 29–48.
Pollack, M. (2012). Living in a material world: A critique of ‘normative power Europe’. In H. Zimmermann & A. Dur (Eds.), Key controversies in European integration (pp. 199–204). Palgrave Macmillan.
Plenary Session. (2017, April 27). Textile imports: MEPs push for EU rules to curb worker exploitation. European Parliament News. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20170424IPR72039/textile-imports-meps-push-for-eu-rules-to-curb-worker-exploitatio. Accessed 20 February 2020.
Rompuy, H. V. (2010, September 16). Speech by Herman van Rompuy President of the European Council at the European Parliament on the outcome of the European Council meeting of 16 September. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/116668.pdf. Accessed 4 January 2020.
Sanyal, A. (2020, January 9). 16 Envoys including US Ambassador visit J&K; EU Skips, wants more access. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/envoys-from-eu-australia-to-skip-governments-2-day-tour-of-j-k-sources-2160886. Accessed 5 February 2020.
Star Online Report. (2020, June 4). Rohingya repatriation: Bangladesh urges EU for more pressure on Myanmar. The Daily Star. https://www.thedailystar.net/rohingya-crisis/news/rohingya-repatriation-bangladesh-urges-eu-more-pressure-myanmar-1908733. Accessed 18 January 2020.
The Telegraph. (2019, July 18). Donald Trump asks where Rohingya is [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JupktYBCVE. Accessed 18 January 2020.
Thielemann, E. (2003). Between interests and norms: Explaining burden-sharing in the European Union. Journal of Refugee Studies, 253–273.
Torney, D. (2012, September). Assessing EU leadership on climate change: The limits of diffusion in EU relations with China and India. https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/37361. Accessed 10 February 2020.
Westcott, B. (2018, January 28). Asia under Trump: How the US is losing the region to China. CNN Wire. https://link-galecom.ezproxy.fiu.edu/apps/doc/A525250163/AONE?u=miam11506&sid=AON&xid=1225b623. Accessed 29 June 2020.
Winand, P., Vicziany, M., & Datar, P. (2015). European Union and India: Rhetoric or meaningful partnership? Edward Elgar.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ashraf, T. (2021). The European Union’s Impact in South Asia: Norms or Geopolitics?. In: Chand, B., Danner, L.K. (eds) New Challenges and Opportunities in European-Asian Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68632-1_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68632-1_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-68631-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-68632-1
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)