Il paradigma della potenza normativa nelle relazioni internazionali. Un nuovo nome per un vecchio concetto?

Normative power has become a popular concept in the study of European foreign policy, depicting the Eu as an international actor committed to export norms beyond its borders. This article investigates the utility of this paradigm for the theory of international relations, as compared to the concepts of civilian power and hegemony. By analyzing Eu policy towards Africa, the article concludes that the definition of an actor as a normative power does provide a new image of power. As opposed to civilian power, this concept stresses the centrality of norms in international relations and, as opposed to Gramscian hegemony, it shows that norm diffusion does not necessarily lead to hegemonic control over the norm importer. Nevertheless, the article stresses a limit of the concept of normative power, namely the fact that, by underestimating the role of interests in foreign policy decisions, it fails to grasp the complex set of motivations driving the process of norm diffusion.