This analysis undertakes a preliminary conceptual assessment of the international agency of the European Union (EU) and China in Central Asia. The contention is that the strategies advanced by both Brussels and Beijing in the region reflect not only their desire to introduce a framework of predictability allowing them to make feasible calculations about future intentions, but also the increasing ‘fragmegration’ of international life. The contention is that the external agency of the EU and China attests to the normative power of their foreign policies. However, the values and norms of the international agency of Brussels and Beijing reflect their distinct experiences and suggest their clashing interests. The article concludes with a brief appraisal of the prospective trends in EU-China interactions in Central Asia.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Amineh, Mehdi and Hank Houweling , ‘The US and the EU in Central Eurasia: Relations with Regional Powers’, in Mehdi Amineh and Hank Houweling (Eds), Central Eurasia in Global Politics ( Leiden: Brill , 2005), pp. 207–34.
2.
Barysch, Katynka , Charles Grant and Mark Leonard , Embracing the Dragon: The EU's Partnership with China ( London: Centre for European Reform , 2005).
3.
Blank, Stephen , ‘ Democratic Prospects in Central Asia ’, World Affairs, Vol. 166, No. 1, 2004, pp. 133–47 .
4.
Chaudhuri, Debasish , ‘ A Survey of the Economic Situation in the Xinjiang and Its Role in the Twenty-First Century ’, China Report, Vol. 41, No. 1, 2005, pp. 1–28 .
5.
Choedon, Yeshi , ‘ China's Stand on UN Peacekeeping Operations: Changing Priorities of Foreign Policy ’, China Report, Vol. 41, No. 1, 2005, pp. 39–57 .
6.
Chung Chien-peng , ‘ The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: China's Changing Influence in Central Asia ’, China Quarterly, Vol. 180, No. 1, 2004, pp. 989–1009 .
7.
Clarke, Michael , ‘ Xinjiang and China's Relations with Central Asia, 1991–2001: Across the “Domestic-Foreign Frontier”? ’, Asian Ethnicity, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2003, pp. 207–24 .
8.
Council of the European Union, ‘ Council joint action 2005/588/CFSP ’, Official Journal of the European Union, No. 199, 2005, pp. 100–101 .
9.
Crutchfield, James , ‘Observing Complexity and the Complexity of Observation’, in H. Atmanspacher (Ed.), Inside versus Outside ( Berlin: Springer , 1993), pp. 235–72.
10.
Deets, Stephen and Dichoda Berdieva , ‘ The Limits of Europe: International and Domestic Influences on Minority Policy in Central Asia and the Caucasus ’, paper presented at the 47th (2006) annual ISA convention.
11.
Diez, Thomas , ‘ Constructing the Self and Changing Others: Reconsidering Normative Power Europe ’, Millennium, Vol. 33, No. 3, 2005, pp. 613–36 .
12.
Dillon, Michael , Xinjiang: China's Muslim far Northwest ( London: RoutledgeCurzon , 2004).
13.
Duke, Simon , The New European Security Disorder ( Basingstoke: Macmillan , 1994).
14.
European Commission, ‘Strategy paper (2002–2006) and Indicative Program (2002–2004) for Central Asia’, Brussels, 12 October 2002.
15.
European Commission, ‘Wider Europe: A New Framework for Relations with Our Eastern and Southern Neighbours’, COM(2003) 104 final, Brussels .
Golden, Seàn , ‘ Socio-Cultural Aspects of the Relationship between the EU and East Asia, with a Particular Reference to China ’, Asia Europe Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2006, pp. 265–94 .
18.
Hampton, Andrea , ‘ Unlocking the Hegemonic Power of the “People's Democratic Dictatorship”: An Analysis of Civil Society and the State in PRC ’, China Report, Vol. 41, No. 3, 2005, pp. 253–66 .
19.
Hu, Richard , ‘China's Central Asia policy’, in Boris Rumer (Ed.), Central Asia at the End of the Transition ( Armonk:M.E. Sharpe , 2005), pp. 130–52.
20.
International Crisis Group, ‘ Uzbekistan: the Andijon Uprising ’, Asia Briefing, No. 38, 2005.
21.
International Crisis Group, ‘ Central Asia: What Role for the EU ’, Asia Report, No. 113, 2006.
22.
Johnston, Alastair , ‘Cultural Realism and Strategy in Maoist China’, in Peter Katzenstein (Ed.), The Culture of National Security ( New York: Columbia University Press , 1996), pp. 216–70.
23.
Kavalski, Emilian , ‘ The Balkans after Iraq_ Iraq after the Balkans: Who's Next? ’, Perspectives on European Politics and Societies, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2005, pp. 103–28 .
24.
Kavalski, Emilian , ‘ From the Western Balkans to the Greater Balkans Area: The External Conditioning of “Awkward” and “Integrated” States ’, Mediterranean Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2006, pp. 86–100 .
25.
Lambridis, Panos and Theodore Koukoulis , ‘ The Awakening of the Red Dragon: China fills the Power Vacuum in the Far East ’, Asia Europe Journal, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2005, pp. 479–99 .
26.
Lambsdorff, Otto Graf , ‘ China, India and Europe ’, paper presented on 18 April 2006 at the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations.
27.
Larsen, Henrik , ‘ The EU: A Global Military Actor ’, Cooperation and Conflict, Vol. 37, No. 3, 2002, pp. 283–302 .
28.
Lavenex, Sandra , ‘ EU External Governance in Wider Europe ’, Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 11, No. 4, 2004, pp. 680–700 .
29.
Manners, Ian , ‘ Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms ’, Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 40, No. 2, 2002, pp. 235–58 .
30.
Menon, Rajan , ‘ The New Great Game in Central Asia ’, Survival, Vol. 45, No. 2, 2003, pp. 187–204 .
31.
Ong, Russell , ‘ China's Security Interests in Central Asia ’, Central Asia Survey, Vol. 24, No. 4, 2005, pp. 425–39 .
32.
Pan Guang , ‘ The Astana Summit: A New Stage in the Development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ’, Asia Europe Journal, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2005, pp. 501–06 .
33.
Portyakov, Vladimir , ‘ The Economic Reform Conception in China: Formation and Evolution ’, China Report, Vol. 40, No. 4, 2004, pp. 357–77 .
34.
Radtke, Kurt , ‘Sino-Indian Relations: Security Dilemma, Ideological Polarisation, or Cooperation Based on “Comprehensive Security”’, in Mehdi Amineh and Hank Houweling (Eds.), Central Eurasia in Global Politics ( Leiden: Brill , 2005), pp. 185–206.
35.
Rosenau, James , Distant Proximities: Dynamics Beyond Globalisation ( Princeton: Princeton University Press , 2003).
36.
Rumer, Boris , ‘Central Asia: At the End of Transition’, in Boris Rumer (Ed.), Central Asia at the End of the Transition ( Armonk: M.E. Sharpe , 2005), pp. 3–70.
37.
Starr, S. Frederick (Ed.), Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland ( Armonk: M.E. Sharpe , 2004).
38.
Telò, Mario , Europe: A Civilian Power? ( Basingstoke: PalgraveMacmillan , 2006).
39.
The Economist, ‘ English Beginning to Be Spoken Here ’, 15 April 2006, No. 379/8473, p. 70 .
40.
Xu Tao , ‘ On the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation under a New Situation ’, Contemporary International Relations, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2002, pp. 6–13 .
41.
Xia Yishan , ‘ The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as I See It ’, Foreign Affairs Journal, Vol. 61, No. 1, 2001, pp. 8–13 .
