An Assessment of EU-China and EU-Japan Political and Security Relations : Moving the `Strategic Partnerships' Beyond the Rhetoric Trap
Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: The European Union's (EU) relevance in East-Asian political and security issues, having been developed for the last two decades, remains limited and low-profile. Keeping focus on assessing the EU's 'Strategic Partnerships' with the People's Republic of China (China) and Japan from the aspect of political and security relations, this article will first discuss the different elements leading to the parallel development of a series of gaps between the objectives set for cooperation and their materialization into actual action or joint-policy; and secondly, address the question of whether due to the lack of a European 'umbrella' strategy for East-Asia and the fact that both Strategic Partnerships are dealt with in isolation, the EU's involvement in the region is most likely to remain low unless a different standpoint is adopted. Furthermore, and considering the nature and causes of such gaps, this article will discuss the upcoming challenges in the analysis of the EU's engagement with East Asia today, which can be summarized in two main aspects: first, that the perceptions that the EU generates in each of the Partners should not be considered a minor aspect of such relations but a crucial one to understand its dynamics and complexities; and secondly, the fact that Japan-EU and China-EU Strategic Partnerships might be better understood through the lens of inter-regionalism instead of being seen as 'normal' bilateral relations, as is the case with most of the exishing literature.
Author: Just Castillo Iglesias
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1605318879