Competing for Economic Power South America, Southeast Asia, and Commercial Realism in European Union Foreign Policy

Competing for Economic Power South America, Southeast Asia, and Commercial Realism in European Union Foreign Policy Katharina Luise Meissner Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of Political and Social Sciences of the European University Institute Florence, June 2016 European University Institute Department of Political and Social Sciences Competing for Economic Power South America, Southeast Asia, and Commercial Realism in European Union Foreign Policy Katharina Luise Meissner Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of Political and Social Sciences of the European University Institute Examining Board Professor Adrienne Héritier, EUI (Supervisor) Professor Ulrich Krotz, EUI/RSCAS Professor Alberta M. Sbragia, University of Pittsburgh Professor Eugénia da Conceição-Heldt, TU Dresden © Katharina Luise Meissner, 2016 No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author Researcher declaration to accompany the submission of written work Department of Political and Social Sciences - Doctoral Programme I, Katharina Luise Meissner, certify that I am the author of the work Competing for Economic Power: South America, Southeast Asia, and Commercial Realism in European Union Foreign Policy I have presented for examination for the Ph.D. at the European University Institute. I also certify that this is solely my own original work, other than where I have clearly indicated, in this declaration and in the thesis, that it is the work of others. I warrant that I have obtained all the permissions required for using any material from other copyrighted publications. I certify that this work complies with the Code of Ethics in Academic Research issued by the European University Institute (IUE 332/2/10 (CA 297). The copyright of this work rests with its author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This work may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. This authorization does not, to the best of my knowledge, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that this work consists of 99850 words. Statement of inclusion of previous work: I confirm that chapter 6.2 draws upon an earlier single-authored book chapter I published: The EU and Brazil Going Strategic: A Qualitative Analysis of the EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership against the Background of the EU-MERCOSUR Negotiations. Cuadernos de Yuste, Publishing House Peter Lang, forthcoming in 2016. I confirm that chapter 7.1 draws upon an earlier single-authored article I published: Has interregionalism failed? Examining the EU ASEAN free trade negotiations. Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, 2015, Special Issue 110-111: 17-42. Statement of language correction: This thesis has been corrected for linguistic and stylistic errors. I certify that I have checked and approved all language corrections, and that these have not affected the content of this work. May 12, 2016 VII Acknowledgements The very first idea for this research appeared in my mind some five years ago during a wonderful year of studies in New Zealand. Transforming into what would become a 371-pages dissertation, this idea travelled with me through several countries. During this time, I have enjoyed the support of various institutions, advisers, colleagues and friends without whose help this initial idea would have not been able to translate into the dissertation as it stands today. It took form at the European University Institute where I had the fortune to study among a group of great researchers. The person who, without doubt, has helped me the most in shaping this dissertation is Adrienne Héritier. She was and still is a superb supervisor who pushed me to apply the necessary analytical rigor, made me think beyond the boundaries of my ideas and who dedicated her time to read and discuss all possible draft versions of my work – for which I am most grateful. With her incredible capacity, enthusiasm and knowledge, for me, she became a role model of both a social scientist and responsible supervisor. The second person who dedicated his time to read various draft versions of parts of my dissertation, who helped me shape the heart of this work, ‘commercial realism’, and with whom I could discuss the (im)possible task of investigating European foreign policy from a realist perspective is Ulrich Krotz. His advice both in theoretical as well as pragmatic respects was invaluable to me and my work. When I received the very positive reports on my thesis both from them and from Alberta Sbragia as well as Eugénia da Conceição-Heldt I was extremely pleased. I am grateful to Alberta Sbragia for encouraging me to further pursuing my research agenda and to Eugénia da Conceição-Heldt for pushing me to rethink parts of my dissertation and to bring them out in the best way. Furthermore, I am indebted to a Carlos Closa who, maybe unexpectedly, helped me in shaping my thoughts on European Union interregionalism and who dedicated his time to read and comment on parts of my draft dissertation. This dissertation benefitted from valuable comments that I received at numerous workshops and conferences. It is impossible to give credit to all commenters in this context, but, at one step or another, the ideas, suggestions or encouragement of Laszlo Bruszt, Thomas Christiansen, Chad Damro, Andreas Dür, Manfred Elsig, Maria García, Philipp Genschel, Magdalena Frennhoff-Larsén, José Sanahuja, Stefan Schirm and Hubert Zimmermann helped me. Fellow researchers who read parts of my work and commented on them are Camille Brugier, a sister in mind, Markus Gastinger, Emmanuelle Mathieu, Alexis Lubow, Nicole Jenne, Stefano Palestini and probably others that I forgot at the time of writing. I am indebted to them who became more than colleagues during my time in Florence. A big thank you for just VIII being there at the European University Institute and for making the time there as fantastic as it has been goes to Andrea, Camille and Martin, Davide and Amalie, the two Johannas, Katharina, Lachlan, Patricia and Janto, Marco and Susanne, who receives an extra-thank you for giving me the impression that I can call her any time, and again others that I might have forgotten. On the Latin American part, I feel thankful for having received the help of three very warm-hearted people. Andrés Malamud and Philippe Schmitter did their best to provide their contacts to researchers and possible interviewees in and on South America. The support of Enrique Martínez Larrechea went far beyond of what I would have ever expected when travelling to Montevideo. He was there right from the start, he introduced me to a number of people, he helped me getting around in the city and I was able to contact him any time. I wish to express my deep gratitude for his incredibly generous help because without him I would have felt quite lost in the far abroad. Next to individual help, this dissertation benefitted from institutional and financial support in various countries. Writing the dissertation at the European University Institute felt like a pure privilege and I wish to acknowledge the institutional support I received. I wish to particularly appreciate the dedication and professionalism of Maureen Lechleitner and Nicola Heargraves who have known me and my work from the start. Jonathan Fitchett did an excellent job in reading, correcting and commenting on my English. Further to the European University Institute, this work profited from the Institute for European Studies during my fieldwork in Brussels, from the contacts provided by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Montevideo, as well as from financial support by the German Academic Exchange Service and the European Research and Mobility Grant for European Studies, Charles V European Award José Manuel Durão Barroso. It goes without saying that this work would have not been possible without the availability of interviewees to whom I am grateful for spending their time on a talk with me. Some of them from the Commission, the European External Action Service and the Uruguayan embassy in Brussels provided help beyond the interview and I feel very thankful for their support. Finally, I wish to thank my beloved ones for having made me the person I am today. This goes to Ina and Melanie for having shared joy and tears, laughter and anger; to my sister Tanja and my brother Tobias for having cared for me; to my mother Helga for having shown me that she will be always there for me; to my father Herbert for having given me the courage to be myself, and to my godchild Sophie for having brought so much love and joy into my life. The greatest debt is to Magnus for simply making me feel at home wherever I am together with him. IX Content Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................... XV List of Tables ........................................................................................................................ XVII List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... XIX Abstract .............................................................................................................................. XXIII 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 25 2 Literature review ..............................................................................................................

Load more