NGO involvement in the European Union Foreign Policy
Author
Jensen, Martin Sloth
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2018
Submitted on
2018-05-31
Pages
52
Abstract
This thesis examines how and to what extent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are involved in the European Union’s foreign and enlargement policy toward candidate countries. It builds on the EU’s long-standing efforts to strengthen civil society—including the Civil Society Facility (CSF) under the Instrument for Pre-accession (IPA)—despite the common view of foreign policy as a ‘high politics’ domain typically insulated from non-state actors. The research question asks: How and to what extent are NGOs involved in the EU’s foreign and enlargement policy efforts toward candidate countries? Methodologically, the study uses two qualitative case studies informed by the policy cycle and process-tracing approaches. The first case focuses on the Bulgarian think tank Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and its role in introducing an Ombudsman institution in Bulgaria during accession. The findings indicate that CSD was a significant actor throughout the national policymaking process on the Ombudsman Act and contributed to drafting the final legislation; the European Commission provided targeted funding for this work, and CSD’s capacities were used to implement the EU’s objective of establishing an Ombudsman in Bulgaria. The second case investigates the Southeast European Leadership for Development and Integrity (SELDI) network and its Framework Partnership Agreement with the European Commission under CSF/IPA in the Western Balkans. The results show that the partnership created formal communication and consultancy channels through which SELDI can provide recommendations, evaluations, and monitoring inputs to EU institutions, while networking at events and policy forums fostered informal contacts useful for advocacy. Overall, the cases suggest that NGOs can play a meaningful role in the EU’s enlargement-oriented foreign policy, particularly in implementation, monitoring, and evidence-based advice, even in areas often viewed as ‘high politics’.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan og i hvilket omfang ikke-statslige organisationer (NGO’er) involveres i Den Europæiske Unions udenrigs- og udvidelsespolitik over for kandidatlande. Udgangspunktet er EU’s flerårige indsats for at styrke civilsamfundet, herunder Civil Society Facility (CSF) under Instrument for Pre-accession (IPA), trods den udbredte opfattelse af udenrigspolitik som et ’højpolitik’-område, der typisk er afskærmet fra ikke-statslige aktører. Specialet stiller forskningsspørgsmålet: Hvordan og i hvilket omfang er NGO’er involveret i EU’s udenrigs- og udvidelsespolitiske indsatser over for kandidatlande? Metodisk anvendes to kvalitative casestudier med policyanalyse-tilgange fra policycirklen og process-tracing. Det første casestudie fokuserer på den bulgarske tænketank Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) og dens rolle i at indføre en ombudsmandsinstitution i Bulgarien under landets tiltrædelsesproces. Analysen viser, at CSD var en central aktør gennem hele den nationale lovgivningsproces om ombudsmandsloven og medvirkede i udarbejdelsen af den endelige lovgivning; Europa-Kommissionen ydede desuden målrettet støtte til CSD’s arbejde, og CSD’s kapaciteter blev anvendt til at gennemføre EU’s politiske målsætning om at etablere en ombudsmand i Bulgarien. Det andet casestudie undersøger netværket Southeast European Leadership for Development and Integrity (SELDI) og dets rammepartnerskab med Europa-Kommissionen under CSF/IPA i Vestbalkan. Her peger resultaterne på, at partnerskabet etablerede formelle kommunikations- og konsulentkanaler, hvorigennem SELDI kan levere anbefalinger, evalueringer og monitoreringsinput til EU-institutionerne, samt at netværksaktiviteter ved arrangementer og politiske fora skabte uformelle kontaktflader, der kan anvendes til interessevaretagelse. Samlet peger casene på, at NGO’er kan spille en betydelig rolle i EU’s udvidelsesorienterede udenrigspolitik, særligt i implementering, overvågning og vidensbaseret rådgivning, selv på områder, der ofte opfattes som ’højpolitik’.
[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]