Contradictory Power Europe?

The determination of the role of the EU and its predecessors in International Relations has long been a conundrum for scholars and policy-makers. In 2002, scholar Ian Manners framed the EU as a Normative Power, arguing that the power of the EU lies in its ability to determine what is deemed appropriate behavior in world politics. The aim of this study is to visualize how the EU is using this normative power to promote conflict resolution in the case of the Western Sahara. The study uses a process-tracing method combined with a content analysis, to follow the EU's diffusion of the norm of sustainable peace through the European Neighbourhood Policy between the EU and Morocco. The analysis demonstrates that the EU is inclined to promote resolutions of the conflicts in neighboring states, but unable to contribute in any specific way towards the Western Saharan conflict. The conclusion of this study shows that the EU contradicts itself, by not achieving its aim of contributing to a resolution of the Western Saharan conflict. This could reduce the legitimacy of the EU's foreign policy