IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jcmkts/v59y2021i2p388-403.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The European Union: From a Complex Adaptive System to a Policy Interpreter

Author

Listed:
  • Ileana Daniela Serban

Abstract

The current article builds on complexity theory and offers a new perspective on EU actorness in external policies. It does so by looking at the EU as a complex adaptive system and by adding new instances to previous analyses on EU agency. More concretely, the article critically assesses the idea that the EU becomes a policy interpreter when external actors start to interact following new policy practices. This entails examining how external actors enable EU institutional learning, and, through this, new forms of EU actorness. The argument is illustrated by using the case of triangular cooperation as a recent policy practice helping the EU to fulfil its commitments to aid effectiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Ileana Daniela Serban, 2021. "The European Union: From a Complex Adaptive System to a Policy Interpreter," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(2), pages 388-403, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:59:y:2021:i:2:p:388-403
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13095
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13095
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jcms.13095?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kevin Gray & Barry K. Gills, 2016. "South–South cooperation and the rise of the Global South," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(4), pages 557-574, April.
    2. Acharya, Amitav, 2004. "How Ideas Spread: Whose Norms Matter? Norm Localization and Institutional Change in Asian Regionalism," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(2), pages 239-275, April.
    3. Amy Barnes & Garrett Brown, 2011. "The Idea of Partnership within the Millennium Development Goals: context, instrumentality and the normative demands of partnership," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 165-180.
    4. Ian Manners, 2002. "Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 235-258, June.
    5. Ida Musiałkowska & Marcin Dąbrowski, 2018. "EU–China Regional Policy Dialogue: Unpacking the Mechanisms of an Unlikely Policy Transfer," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 70(10), pages 1689-1711, November.
    6. Andrews, Matt & Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2017. "Building State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198747482.
    7. Eva Boxenbaum & Stefan Jonsson, 2017. "Isomorphism, diffusion and decoupling: Concept evolution and theoretical challenges," Post-Print hal-01488051, HAL.
    8. Richard Youngs, 2004. "Normative Dynamics and Strategic Interests in the EU's External Identity," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 415-435, June.
    9. Kai Enno Lehmann, 2018. "The Crisis of the European Union as a Complex Adaptive System," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 971-988, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tanja A. Börzel & Thomas Risse, 2009. "Diffusing (Inter-) Regionalism - The EU as a Model of Regional Integration," KFG Working Papers p0007, Free University Berlin.
    2. Chiara De Franco & Christoph O. Meyer & Karen E. Smith, 2015. "‘Living by Example?’ The European Union and the Implementation of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 994-1009, September.
    3. Moosung Lee, 2012. "A step as normative power: the EU’s human rights policy towards North Korea," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 41-56, May.
    4. Laura Allison-Reumann, 2017. "ASEAN and human rights: challenges to the EU’s diffusion of human rights norms," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 39-54, March.
    5. Erickson, Jennifer L., 2008. "Normative power and EU arms transfer policy: A theoretical critique and empirical test [Normative Macht und die EU-Waffenlieferungspolitik: Eine theoretische Kritik und ein empirischer Test]," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Global Governance SP IV 2008-301, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    6. Neve Gordon & Sharon Pardo, 2015. "Normative Power Europe meets the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 265-274, September.
    7. Ueli Staeger, 2016. "Africa–EU Relations and Normative Power Europe: A Decolonial Pan‐African Critique," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 981-998, July.
    8. Tanja A. Börzel, 2011. "Comparative Regionalism - A New Research Agenda," KFG Working Papers p0028, Free University Berlin.
    9. Maria Garcia & Annick Masselot, 2015. "EU-Asia Free Trade Agreements as tools for social norm/legislation transfer," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 241-252, September.
    10. Sangeeta Khorana & Maria Garcia, 2013. "European Union–India Trade Negotiations: One Step Forward, One Back?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 684-700, July.
    11. Daniela Donno & Michael Neureiter, 2018. "Can human rights conditionality reduce repression? Examining the European Union’s economic agreements," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 335-357, September.
    12. Pål Røren, 2020. "On the Social Status of the European Union," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 706-722, May.
    13. Gerau, Jasmin, 2012. "Shared Perceptions of Green? The perception and acceptance of European Union values and rules in environmental policy in Jordan," IEE Working Papers 195, Ruhr University Bochum, Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE).
    14. Thyen, Kressen, 2018. "Why It Matters What We Do: Arab Citizens' Perceptions of the European Union after the 2011 Uprisings," GIGA Working Papers 312, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    15. Raffaella A. Del Sarto, 2016. "Normative Empire Europe: The European Union, its Borderlands, and the ‘Arab Spring’," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 215-232, March.
    16. Jörg Faust & Maria Melody Garcia, 2014. "With or Without Force? European Public Opinion on Democracy Promotion," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 861-878, July.
    17. Peter Viggo Jakobsen, 2009. "Small States, Big Influence: The Overlooked Nordic Influence on the Civilian ESDP," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 81-102, January.
    18. Muel Kaptein, 2023. "A Paradox of Ethics: Why People in Good Organizations do Bad Things," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(1), pages 297-316, April.
    19. Luuk Middelaar, 2016. "The Return of Politics – The European Union after the crises in the eurozone and Ukraine," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 495-507, May.
    20. Loredana SIMIONOV, 2021. "European Union's pursuit of resilience in the Eastern Neighbourhood," CES Working Papers, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 12(4), pages 257-266, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:59:y:2021:i:2:p:388-403. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0021-9886 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.