Normative power Europe and the problem of a legitimacy deficit: An Israeli perspective

European Foreign Affairs Review

Volumn 12, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 89-109

  Harpaz, Guy ^a  

^a HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM   (Israel)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 51249159750     PISSN: 13846299     EISSN: 18758223     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.54648/eerr2007006     Document Type: Article

References (90)

1. For general literature, see T. Salmon, 'The EU's Role in Conflict Resolution: Lessons from Northern Ireland' (2002) 7/3 EFA Rev., pp. 337-358
2. A. Bjorkdahl, 'Norm-maker and Norm-taker: Exploring the Normative Influence of the EC in Macedonia' (2005) 10/2 EFA Rev., pp. 257-278
3. A. Warkotsch, 'The European Union and Democracy Promotion in Bad Neighbourhoods: The Case of Central Asia' (2006) 11/4 EFA Rev., pp. 509-525
4. B. Hettne and F. Soderbaum, 'Civilian Power or Soft Imperialism? The EU as a Global Actor and the Role of Interregionalism' (2005) 10/4 EFA Rev., pp. 535-552.
5. E. Aoun, 'European Foreign Policy and the Arab-Israeli Dispute: Much Ado about Nothing?' (2003) 8/3 EFA Rev., pp. 289-312.
6. Speech by Romano Prodi, former President of the European Commission, on 'Europe and Peace' at the University of Ulster (Derry), 1 April 2004, available at : 'Our continent has been transformed. It was once a cauldron boiling over with conflicts. And today Europe is a powerhouse for peace, generating stability and prosperity beyond its borders. The Union has brought us one of the longest periods of peace in our history. And it has set an example that gives hope to millions around the world. Our success shows we have found a model that works. A model to draw on in managing relations between states in our neighbourhood and even beyond.'
7. Brussels, 11 March 2003, COM(2003) 104 final. For analysis, see G. Harpaz, 'A Proposed Model for Enhanced EU-Israeli Relations: Prevailing Legal Arrangements and Prospective Juridical Challenges' (2006) 40/6 Journal of World Trade, pp. 1115-1144
8. G. Harpaz, 'The Europe Neighborhood Policy and its Impact on the Israeli-European Union-United States Triangle' (2005) 6/2 San Diego International Law Journal, 295
9. G. Harpaz, 'The Effectiveness of EU-Rope's "Soft" Power Instruments in its Relations with the State of Israel' (2005) 7 Cambridge Yearbook on European Legal Studies, 159
10. J. Kelley, 'New Wine in Old Wineskins: Promoting Political Reforms through the New European Neighbourhhod Policy' (2006) 44/1 Journal of Common Market Studies, 29
11. R. Aliboni, 'The Geopolitical Implications of the European Neighbourhood Policy' (2005) 10/1 EFA Rev., pp. 1-16
12. R.A. Del Sarto and T. Schumacher, 'From EMP to ENP: What's at Stake with the European Neighbourhood Policy towards the Southern Mediterranean?' (2005) 10/1 EFA Rev., pp. 17-38
13. R. Balfour and A. Rotta, 'Beyond Enlargement: The European Neighbourhood Policy and its Tools' (2005) XL/1 The International Spectator, 7
14. N. Tocci, 'Does the ENP Respond to the EU's Post Enlargement Challenges?' (2005) XL/1 The International Spectator, 21
15. D. Lynch, 'The Security Dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy' (2005) XL/1 The International Spectator, 33
16. M. Emerson, The Wider Europe Matrix (The Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels, 2004)
17. M. Emersson and G. Noutcheva, 'From Barcelona Process to Neighbourhood Policy', CEPS Working Document, No. 220, March 2005.
18. A. Etzioni, 'A Self-restrained Approach to Nation Building by Foreign Powers' (2004) 80/1 International Affairs, 1, 2.
19. Commission of the European Communities, Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament, Reinvigorating EU Actions on Human Rights and Democratisation with Mediterranean Partners, Strategic Guidelines, Brussels 21 May 2003 COM(2003) 294 final, p. 4.
20. See R. Hazan, 'Fostering Democracy through Parliamentary Cooperation: European Lessons from the Middle East?' in K. Boehnke (ed.), Israel and Europe - A Complex Relationship (DUV, Wiesbaden, 2003), 75, at 96
21. Emanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace (Garland Pub., New York, N.Y., 1972).
22. See, for example, A. Magen, 'Building Democratic Peace in the Eastern Mediterranean: An Inevitably Ambitious Agenda' (2004) Working Paper, No. 9, Stanford Institute for International Studies, at p. 115.
23. R. Kagan, 'Why the United States and Europe See the World Differently' (2002) 113 Policy Review, pp. 7-8.
24. F. Duchêne, 'Europe's Role in the World Peace' in R. Mayne (ed.), Europe Tomorrow: Sixteen European's look Ahead (Fontana, London, 1972). As a result of the lack of hard power,
25. Quoted in A. Linklater, 'European Civilising Process' in C. Hill and M. Smith (eds), International Relations and the European Union (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005), p. 375.
26. S. Lavenex, 'EU External Governance in "Wider Europe"' (2004) 11/4 Journal of European Public Policy, 680
27. relying on the works of R. Whiteman, 'The Fall and Rise of Civilian Power Europe', National Europe Centre Paper, No. 162002, available at
28. C. Nicolaides and R. Howse, 'This is My EUtopia: Narrative as Power', in J.H.H. Weiler, I. Begg and J. Peterson (eds), Integration in an Expanding European Union (Blackwell, Oxford, 2003), 341.
29. J.S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (Public Affairs, New York, N.Y., 2004), pp. 75-83.
30. F. Duchêne, 'The European Community and the Uncertanties of Interdependence' in M. Kohnstmann and W. Hager, A Nations Writ Large? Foreign Policy Problems before the European Community (Macmillan, London, 1973), pp. 19-20.
31. R.G. Whitman, From Civilian Power to Superpower? The International Identity of the European Union (Macmillan, London, 1998).
32. A. Magen, 'The Shadow of Enlargement: Can European Neighbourhood Policy Achieve Compliance?' (2006) 12 Columbia Journal of European Journal, 495.
33. R. Youngs, 'European Union Democracy Promotion Policies: Ten Years On' (2001) 6 EFA Rev., pp. 355-373.
34. Sandra Lavenex, 'EU External Governance in "Wider Europe"' (2004) 11/4 Journal of European Public Policy, 680.
35. O. Waever, 'Insecurity, Security and asecurity in the West European non-War Community' in E. Adler and M. Barnett, Security Communities (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998), p. 99.
36. Manners, note 19 above; A. Moravcsik, 'The Quiet Superpower', Newsweek, 17 June 2002, p. 17: Europe's civilian power does not lie in the deployment of battalions or bombers, but rather in the quiet promotion of democracy and development through trade, foreign aid and peacekeeping.
37. L.G. Feldman, 'Reconciliation and Legitimacy: Foreign Relations and Enlargement of the European Union' in T. Banchoff and M.P. Smith (eds), Legitimacy and the European Union (Routledge, London, 1999), p. 66.
38. See also the former President of Germany, Roman Herzog: 'The message of reconciliation still remains the best message Europe can offer the world', address to the European Parliament, Strasbourg, 10 October 1995
39. I. Hurd, 'Legitimacy and Authority in International Politics' (1999) 53/2 International Organization, at p. 379.
40. M. Weber, Economy and Society (University of California Press, Berkely, 1978), p. 213.
41. J. Steffek, 'The Legitimation of International Governance: A Discourse Approach' (2003) 9/2 European Journal of International Relations, p. 249, p. 252
42. T. Franck, The Power of Legitimacy among Nations (Oxford University Press, New York, N.Y., 1990).
43. M. Suchman, 'Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches' (1995), 20/3 Academy of Management Review, p. 571, p. 574.
44. See the analysis of M. Hirsch, 'Compliance with International Norms in the Age of Globalization: Two Theoretical Perspectives' in E. Benvenisti and M. Hirsch (eds), The Impact of International Law on International Cooperation (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004).
45. Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, on the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part, Official Journal L 147, 21 June 21 2000, pp. 0003-0171. For analysis, see especially: N. Munin, The EU and Israel: State of the Play (Israeli Ministry of Finance, Jerusalem, 2003), pp. 145-226 [Hebrew]
46. A. Reich, 'From Diplomacy to Law: The Juridicization of International Relations in the Framework of GATT and Israel's Free Trade Agreements' (1999) 22/1 Tel-Aviv Law Review, p. 351, at pp. 398-403 [Hebrew]
47. E. Inbar, 'Improving Israel-EU Relations: The European Economic Area as a Possible Model' (1999) 5/1 Israel Affairs, p. 109
48. M. Hirsch, 'The 1995 Trade Agreement between the European Communities and Israel: Three Unsolved Issues' (1996) 1/1 EFA Rev., p. 87.
49. For analysis, see Macioti, 'How can the EC-Israel Research Cooperation be Expanded?', p. 217
50. Kohl-Koch, 'International and European Cooperation in Science, A German Point of View', p. 233
51. Keynan, 'The State of Cooperation in Scientific Research, Israel and the EC', p. 249
52. M. Hirsch, E. Inbar and T. Sadeh, The Future Relations between Israel and the European Communities: Some Alternatives (Bursi, Tel Aviv, 1996).
53. For official Israeli statistics, see (last visited 20 July, 2006).
54. See Barcelona Declaration adopted at the Euro-Mediterranean Conference, 27-28 November 1995, Barcelona, final version.
55. For analysis, see M. Heller, 'Reassessing Barcelona', in F. Tanner and J. Schemm (eds), The European Union as a Security Actor in the Mediterranean: ESDP, Soft Power and Peacemaking in Euro-Mediterranean Relations (Forschungsstelle für Sicherheitspolitik und Konfliktanalyse der ETH Zürich, Zürich, 2001), p. 77
56. A. Tovias, 'Israel and the Barcelona Process: The First Five Years' in Boehnke, note 7 above
57. R. Gillespie, 'Reshaping the Agenda? The Internal Politics of the Barcelona Process in the Aftermath of September 11' (2003) 8/2-3 Mediterranean Politics, p. 21.
58. Gera, 'Israel and the June 1967 War: Twenty Five Years Later' (1992) 46/2 Middle East Journal, p. 229.
59. See A. Dieckhoff, 'The European Union and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict' (2005) 16 Inroads, p. 52, pp. 60-61
60. I. Greilsammer and J. Weiler, Europe's Middle East Dilemma: The Quest for a Unified Stance (Westview, Boulder, 1987).
61. G. Steinberg, 'European NGOs Against Israel' in M. Gerstenfeld (ed.), Israel and Europe: An Expanding Abyss? (Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, Jerusalem, 2005), p. 111, at p. 112
62. Greilsammer and Weiler, note 61 above, at pp. 14-105. See also the response of the Israeli Foreign Ministry to the EU stance with regard to the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice regarding the Israeli Separation Barrier: 'Israel is particularly disappointed by the European stand. The willingness of the EU to fall in with the Palestinian position. raises doubts as to the ability of the EU to contribute anything constructive to the diplomatic process', as quoted in Y. Dror and S. Pardo, 'Approaches and Principles for an Israeli Grand Strategy towards the European Union' (2006) 11/1 EFA Rev., p. 11, at p. 24, footnote 24; Aoun, note 2 above, at p. 302
63. J. Alpher, 'The Political Role of the European Union in the Arab-Israel Peace Process: An Israeli Perspective' (1998) 4 International Spectator, p. 80
64. G. Steinberg, 'European NGOs against Israel' in Gerstenfeld, ibid., p. 111, p. 112
65. 'Many in European politics, academia, media and the NGOs uses almost identical semantics. These four elements of society work together in an overall attack on Israel'; D. Gold, 'Europe's Consistent Anti-Israeli Bias in the United Nations' in Gerstenfeld, ibid., p. 49
66. The voting record of the EU shows long-standing anti-Israeli bias; G. Steinberg, 'Learning the Lessons of the European Union's Failed Middle East Policies' (2004) 510 Jerusalem Viewpoints, pp. 3-4
67. EU policies are widely viewed as projecting a strong anti-Israeli bias based on myths of Palestinian victimization and Israel's excessive use of force. This bias is reflected in media distortions, academic boycotts, government and government-funded NGO campaigns to demonize Israel. See also I. Colter, 'Durban's Troubling Legacy One Year Later: Twisting the Cause of International Human Rights against the Jewish People' (2002) 2/5 Jerusalem Issue Brief.
68. See Henri Simonet, 'Energy and the Future of Europe' (1975) 53/3 Foreign Affairs, 450: European policies conveyed the message that when faced with economic, social or political consequences of a sustained oil embargo, the Nine has chosen the path of appeasement at any price.
69. See U. Haltern, 'Pathos and Patina: The Failure and Promise of Constitutionalism in the European Imagination' (2003) 9 European Law Journal, p. 14, at p. 15.
70. See A. Oz, The Slopes of the Volcano (Keter Press, Jerusalem, 2006), 39 [original in Hebrew, as translated by the author]: 'The more that significant portions of the Left and the Liberals in Germany (and in other parts of the world) tend to see America as the "Great Satan" - the more convenient it is to depict Israel as the "Small Satan", or maybe as "Rosemary's baby"'.
71. See also S. Trigano, 'The European Union: Continuously Creating Problems for Israel and the Jews' in Gerstenfeld, note 62 above, p. 81
72. B. Soetendorp, 'The EU involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process: The Building of a Visible International Identity' (2002) 7/2 EFA Rev., pp. 283-295.
73. See Oz, ibid., p. 37. See also A. Marrkovits, 'European Anti-Americanism and Anti-Semitism: Similarities and Differences', in Gerstenfeld, note 62 above, p. 125, p. 134
74. R. Wistrict; 'Something is Rotten in the State of Europe: Anti-Semitism as a Civilization Pathology' in Gerstenfeld, note 62 above, p. 95.
75. See A. Theophanous, The Cyprus Question and the EU: The Challenge and the Promise (Intercollege Press, Nicosia, 2004)
76. S. Avineri, 'The UN's Favorite Occupation', Jerusalem Post, 29 February, 2004
77. G. Harpaz, Book Review of A. Theophanous, The Cyprus Question and the EU: The Challenges and the Promise (2005) 30/4 European Law Review, pp. 591-595.
78. J. Gedmin, 'Experiencing European Anti-Americanism and Anti-Israelism' in Gerstenfeld, note 62 above, p. 143, p. 150.
79. See M. Gerstenfeld, 'Israel and Europe: An Expanding Abyss?' in Gerstenfeld, note 62 above, p. 3, at p. 11
80. .
81. See Y. Dror, 'The EU and Israel: Radically Different Worldviews' in Gerstenfeld, note 62 above, p. 25, pp. 31-32 and p. 35.
82. For European writing on this theme, see Pirouz and Leonard, 'How to Change the Middle East', Financial Times, 15 September 2003 - 'The EU's "constructive engagement" approach - hoping that economic liberalisation will bring about political change - is unlikely to disturb the sleep of the autocratic rulers'.
83. H. Kramer, 'The European Community's Response to the "New Eastern Europe"' (1993) 31 Journal of Common Market Studies, p. 213, p. 221.
84. Zohar Peri of the Israeli Ministry of Trade and Industry, Jerusalem Post, 3 August 1995.
85. D. Keridis, 'Europe and Israel: What Went Wrong?', The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, Bar-Ilan University, 2004, available at .
86. Resolution 796, Israeli Reaction to the Decision of the European Countries in Venice, 15 June 1980, as translated by the present author.
87. See O. Grosbard, Menachem Begin - A Portrait of a Leader - A Biography (Resling, Tel-Aviv, 2006).
88. Abba Eban, London Times, 13 June 1980
89. Le Soir, 12 June 1980, as quoted in Greilsammer and Weiler, note 61 above, p. 47.
90. As Benjamin Netanyahu, a former Prime Minister and a renowned pro-American politician, puts it: 'It is no secret that in the past twenty years we have invested a major political effort in our relations with the US and not without significance. But it is also true that in the same period pro-Arab views have made headway among European opinion leaders. And it will not do to just brush aside the unfavourable voices. As Europe's political and economic clout grows, so its status in world affairs and its influence will be felt in the policies of other nations', quoted in R. Hollis, 'The Politics of Israeli-European Economic Relations' (1994) 1/1 Israel Affairs, p. 118.