The fallout of the EU’s normative imperialism in the eastern neighborhood

This article argues that the European Neighborhood Policy is characterized by normative imperialism. The EU’s institutional set-up implies a specific logic of external behavior which differs significantly from conventional state foreign policy, as empires need to provide their ‘large polity’ with a sense of community. The argument offers an explanation to the question why the EU needs to adopt a normative agenda in external relations. The article continues to briefly assess three EU neighborhoods. In Eastern Europe, the EU’s approach had to fail, being based on deficient assumptions about political realities in the EaP states and underestimating the antagonistic relations with Russia.