The EU as an International Actor: Lessons from the China Arms Embargo Debate

Brown, Scott A.W. (2011) The EU as an International Actor: Lessons from the China Arms Embargo Debate. [Conference Proceedings]

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Abstract

Much of the literature on the European Union’s development as an international actor has focused on either the institutionalisation of foreign policymaking or what type of actor the EU can be regarded as. This paper seeks to examine a dimension which has received comparatively less attention: how other actors in the international arena view the EU. Recognition is a prerequisite for the EU to become a credible international actor. Through examining the EU’s debate over lifting its China arms embargo, this paper reflects on the impact of the debate on the views of the EU held by two other significant actors – the USA and the PRC – and the implications for the EU. The literature on the arms embargo debate has tended to treat it as a case study of EU foreign policymaking or as an issue in EU-China relations. Little has been said about the broader implications for the image of the EU in the eyes of others. Through analysis of the debate’s context and subsequent developments in EU-US and EU-China relations, an evaluation is made of whether the debate can be considered as a setback for developing EU ‘actorness’ and what, if any, lessons have been learned by policymakers.

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