A Comparative Appraisal of Normative Power: The European Union, the United States and the January 25th, 2011 Revolution in Egypt

In A Comparative Appraisal of Normative Power Ville Sinkkonen constructs a three-pronged analytical framework for the analysis of normative power, a theoretical concept recently associated with studying the international role of the European Union. This toolkit allows him to compare the foreign policy conduct of the EU and the United States in the context of the January 25th, 2011 Revolution in Egypt along three dimensions: ‘norms and identity’, ‘means’ and ‘paradoxes’. These components permit an in-depth analysis of Western norm promotion in the midst of the upheaval, building on a large pool of source documents. The monograph broadens the remit of normative power through its empirical bent, comparative research set-up and focus on a swiftly unfolding revolution/transition complex. In the process, the prevalent discourse of the EU as a benign international actor is subjected to rigorous analytical scrutiny.