European Norm Promotion in Central Asia: Explaining Variation through the Lens of Linkage and Leverage

December 17, 2013

December 17, 2013

Vanessa Boas, University of Cologne and Charles University Prague

Abstract: The EU has sought to promote a number of norms in Central Asia with the end of fostering democracy and stability in the region. At the same time, these policies have also served European interests in the realms of business, trade and investment. By looking at varying linkage and leverage rates in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, this research project aims to explain variation in norm promotion outcomes in each respective country. In its examination of leverage it considers the size of the economy of each country, competing foreign policy interests of EU member states and the presence of countervailing powers, namely Russia and China. In terms of linkage, focus falls on the depth of economic, social, intergovernmental, civil societal and informational ties between the EU and a given country. Finally, the domestic landscape as a political and economic entity composed of personalities, policies and laws is attributed an intervening quality in the Linkage and Leverage Model.

Bio: Vanessa is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cologne and Charles University Prague. She also has a M.A. from College of Europe, Warsaw, Poland and a B.A. from University of Bristol, England. Vanessa was a delegate from European Commission Delegation to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Vanessa is fluent in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Russian.

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