Human Rights According to Whom? A Study Of The European Union And The Peoples´ Republic of China´s Negotiations Within The EU-China Human Rights Dialogues
Authors
Jakobsen, Trine Østerby ; Rusbjerg, Cecilie Nitta
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-28
Pages
100
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan Den Europæiske Union (EU) og Folkerepublikken Kina forhandler om menneskerettigheder inden for EU–Kina-menneskerettighedsdialogerne (HRD). Med udgangspunkt i ni pressebriefinger fra EU’s Udenrigstjeneste (EEAS) og Kinas Udenrigsministerium anvendes en socialkonstruktivistisk tilgang og en abduktiv forskningsstrategi kombineret med theory-building process tracing. Gennem diskursanalyse af de frames, der præsenteres i briefingerne, forbindes dialogernes mikro-niveau med det bredere makro-niveau i parternes strategiske partnerskab (bl.a. handel, klima, forskning og teknologi). Two-level game theory bruges til at vurdere, hvad disse frames indikerer om den strategiske relation, mulige koblinger mellem HRD og andre samarbejdsområder samt hvor forhandlingerne har udsigt til at lykkes. Analysen identificerer to makroniveau-udfald knyttet til HRD, herunder samarbejde om at fremme kvinders iværksætteri i teknologi- og digitalsektorerne, og peger overordnet på, at forhandlingerne er mest succesfulde, når menneskerettigheder kobles til økonomiske eller teknologiske dimensioner. Dette står i kontrast til dele af litteraturen, der hævder, at HRD ikke fører til håndgribelige resultater på makroniveau, fordi EU prioriterer materielle interesser over værdier. Specialet bidrager med et nuanceret billede af, hvornår og hvordan dialogerne kan skabe resultater, samtidig med at det kortlægger områder, hvor samarbejdet forbliver vanskeligt.
This thesis examines how the European Union (EU) and the People’s Republic of China negotiate human rights within the EU–China Human Rights Dialogues (HRD). Drawing on nine press briefings from the European External Action Service and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the study adopts a social constructivist lens and an abductive research strategy combined with theory-building process tracing. Through discourse analysis of the frames articulated in the briefings, it links the dialogues’ micro-level dynamics to the broader macro-level elements of the EU–China strategic partnership (including trade, climate, research, and technology). Two-level game theory is used to assess what these frames reveal about the strategic relationship, whether there are linkages between the HRD and other areas of cooperation, and where negotiations are likely to succeed. The analysis identifies two macro-level outcomes associated with the HRD, including cooperation on fostering women’s entrepreneurship in the technology and digital sectors, and finds that negotiations tend to be most successful when human rights are coupled with economic or technological dimensions. This challenges strands of scholarship claiming that the HRD yields no tangible macro-level results because the EU prioritizes material interests over values. The thesis offers a more nuanced account of when and how the dialogues can produce outcomes, while also mapping areas where cooperation remains difficult.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Documents