The EU straying from the norm: How the European Union has changed its narrative to respond to China’s belt and road initiative

In 2013, China revealed its plan to increase connectivity along historical trade routes in parts of Europe, Asia, and the African continent with its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The European Union (EU) is concerned with the effects that this initiative will have on the global status of the EU as well as on the relationships between the EU and China. I will explore how EU policy has changed recently due to the increase in global influence that China has seen through the initiative and whether or not China is successfully dividing the European Union through this initiative. The European Union is often described as a normative world power, that is, the EU acts in pursuit of its ideals rather than in a material or physical pursuit. My hypothesis is that the EU is straying from its normative power narrative and undertaking a more realist perspective in order to compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. I will analyze the shifts in policy and rhetoric of the EU and the EU-China relationship as concerned with the timeline of the BRI through the official public relations outlets of the EU. This will be conducted through a frame analysis of the European Commission’s and European External Action Service’s information outputs.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

European Union Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2020

Author dc:creator

• Prince, Victoria

Contributors dc:contributor

• Larson, Jonathan
• Dai, Xinyuan

• European Union
• EU
• China
• Belt and Road Initiative
• normative power
• investment

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2020 Victoria Prince

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/108063

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/108063