Afionis, S and Stringer, LC (2014) The environment as a strategic priority in the European Union–Brazil partnership: is the EU behaving as a normative power or soft imperialist? International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 14 (1). 47 - 64. ISSN 1567-9764
Abstract
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.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2014, Springer. This is an author produced version of a paper published in International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10784-013-9232-3 |
Keywords: | Climate change; deforestation; biofuels; Mercosur; Latin America; multilateralism |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 10 Sep 2014 09:16 |
Last Modified: | 18 Jun 2015 17:39 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10784-013-9232-3 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s10784-013-9232-3 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:80145 |