Normative Power of the EU and Identity Orientation of the Eastern Partnership: A Study of Belarus and Moldova

Introduction: The European Union concluded accession negotiations with ten new countries between 2003 and 2005. In 2009, the European Union and its six Eastern partners (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Belarus) launched the Eastern Partnership initiative, based on a commitment to fundamental values, market economy, sustainable development, and good governance.
As can be seen in the framework of the Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership Initiative, the European Union places great emphasis on practices and norms based on European values ​​in its external relations. The emphasis and focus on European norms has been a serious concern of the European Union founders since its inception. It was in this context that the concept of normative power was introduced by Jan Manners. Manners believed that the European Union, as a “normative power”, aims in its foreign policy to shape, instill, disseminate – and thus “normalize” – rules and values ​​in international affairs through non-coercive measures.
One of the main areas that can show how the normative power of the EU affects the Eastern Partnership initiative is the identity orientation of the EU's foreign policy. In order to better and more accurately examine the impact of normative power on the identity orientation of the European Union's foreign policy in the Eastern Partnership initiative, the two countries of Belarus and Moldova have been selected as the two case studies in this article. Moldova is one of the successful examples, and Belarus is one of the less successful examples in the field of European normative power influence, and studying these two countries can help to better understand the issue.
Research question: This article seeks to answer the main question: How has the normative power of the European Union affected the identity dimension of its foreign policy in the Eastern Partnership initiative, with an emphasis on Belarus and Moldova?
Research hypothesis: In response to the main question of this article, it can be hypothesized that the European Union's emphasis on democratic norms, respect for human rights, and the rule of law, based on the logic of proportionality, has led to the prominence of European identity and the deepening of the European-Russian identity and cultural gap in the identity dimension of the European Union's foreign policy. The examination of the two case studies in this article, namely Belarus and Moldova, clearly shows how normative power affects the identity dimension of the EU’s foreign policy.
Methodology: The method chosen for this article is a case study and process tracing method. The data collection method in this article is also a documentary method. Basically, the case study research method is used when our questions are of the how and why type, we have no control over the phenomena under study, and the phenomenon under study belongs to the present. Accordingly, and in order to apply the case study method, we have selected two member countries of the Eastern Partnership Initiative, Belarus and Moldova, as two case studies.
We also use the theory of Europeanization, based on Schimmelfenning Theory, to test the hypothesis. According to Schimmelfennig, Europeanization refers to the mechanisms through which European sovereignty influences states and their policies. Schimmelfennig’s framework distinguishes the mechanisms of Europeanization by their institutional logic: the “logic of consequence” or the “logic of proportionality.” While the logic of consequence assumes that actors choose the behavioral option that maximizes their utility in the circumstances, the logic of proportionality stipulates that actors choose the behavior that is appropriate given their social role and the social norms in a given situation.
When we talk about European identity and culture, it is obvious that we are dealing with the logic of proportionality. The logic of proportionality stipulates that actors choose the appropriate behavior given their social role and the social norms in a given situation. Accordingly, the socialization process (or social learning model) based on the logic of proportionality involves teaching EU policies, ideas, and norms to non-member countries and convincing them of the appropriateness of these policies and, consequently, motivating them to adopt these policies.
Findings and results: After briefly mentioning the identity dimension of the Eastern Partnership initiative and the various dimensions of the identity conflict between the European Union and Russia in this region, to examine the effects of Europe's normative power on the identity dimension of the European Union's foreign policy in the Eastern Partnership initiative, we have examined the EU's foreign policy in terms of three main indicators: cultural and educational cooperation, support for civil society and people-to-people contacts.
In the case of Belarus, the EU has tried to strengthen the European identity in the country by deepening cultural and educational cooperation, supporting civil society, and expanding people-to-people contacts. However, the existence of an authoritarian and pro-Russian political system led by Lukashenko for the past three decades has created a major obstacle for the EU in this direction and has had a negative impact on the country's integration process into the EU.
In the case of Moldova, the European Union has acted within the framework of the three identity indicators in its foreign policy. Unlike Belarus, the positive approach of the ruling governments in Moldova to the process of European integration has resulted in a better situation in strengthening European identity and exercising European normative power.
In short, it can be said that the European Union's emphasis on the three main norms of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, within the framework of exercising normative power, has led the Union's foreign policy, whether in the form of the Neighborhood Policy or the Eastern Partnership Initiative, towards the prominence of European identity on the one hand and the deepening of the European-Russian identity and cultural gap on the other.