Normative power Europe and the state of Israel: An illegitimate EUtopia?

Abstract

This article re-examines the concept of Normative Power. It is viewed here not merely as an abstract concept, but also as part of a complex historical, socio-political and economic context, examined through the prism of non-Europeans, in our case Israelis. By analysing the dominant Israeli approaches towards the EU and its normative apparatus, this article aspires to depict the multifarious and concrete perceptions of Normative Power Europe and to contrast these perceptions with the EU self-perceived and self-portrayed normative view. © 2010 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.