Normative Power Europe?: norm localization, the death penalty and criminal justice in Southeast Asi

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K03536
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: International relations
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Bacon Paul 早稲田大学, 国際学術院, 教授 (40350706)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 中村 英俊 早稲田大学, 政治経済学術院, 准教授 (80316166)
• Research Collaborator: Weyembergh Anne Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Institute for European Studies, President ; Holland Martin University of Canterbury, national Centre for Research on Europe, Director ; Whitman Richard University of Kent, Professor ; Mayer Hartmut Oxford University, European Studies Centre, Director ; Usayapant Nishkan Human Rights and Development Foundation, former Project Manager
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: Normative power Europe / Norm diffusion / European Union / Conditionality / Socialization / Criminal justice / Localization / Forced labour

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project investigated the European Union’s attempts to promote human rights in Southeast Asia. In particular, the project used European theories of how human rights are promoted, to evaluate the case study of Thailand. Using several methods, including conditionality, capacity-building and persuasion, the European Union has been successful in making Thailand reform and significantly improve its human rights record, and its criminal justice system, in particular with regard to forced labour in the fisheries industry. As a result of EU pressure, Thailand ratified several international legal documents, including International Labour Organization conventions, translated them into domestic law, and is also implementing these human rights standards. The EU has also been highly successful in making Thailand eradicate IUU fishing (illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing). The European Union has therefore been a significant moral, or ‘normative’ power in Southeast Asia.

Free Research Field

European Union Studies

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

The research shows conclusively that the EU has demonstrated normative/norm diffusion power in the Thai case study. This finding goes against the assumptions of the EU norm diffusion literature, which suggests that the EU will not be able to exert normative power beyond the European neighbourhood.