JESP Symposium: The European Union's global social role

This symposium considers Europe's global social policy through an exchange of ideas between scholars with different areas of expertise. The lead article provides an overview of the EU's objectives and instruments in promoting the social dimension of globalization, illustrating its...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Orbie, Jan, Tortell, Lisa, Kissack, Robert, Gstöhl, Sieglinde, Wouters, Jan, Hachez, Nicolas
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2009
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repository:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/41731
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/41731
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0958928708101864
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Corporate social responsibility
European neighbourhood policy
European social model
Globalization
International labour organization
Labour standards
Normative power Europe
Social clause
Description
Summary:This symposium considers Europe's global social policy through an exchange of ideas between scholars with different areas of expertise. The lead article provides an overview of the EU's objectives and instruments in promoting the social dimension of globalization, illustrating its focus on international labour standards and the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the shift from trade measures to a broader spectrum of soft external policy instruments. More specifically, we analyse the horizontal and vertical coherence of the EU's international social policies. The three other contributions to this symposium elaborate on this distinction by examining the social dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the `uploading' of the EU social model in the ILO, and the EU's promotion of corporate social responsibility in the world. These accounts suggest that market-enhancing goals often take priority over social objectives, and that the EU can at best be seen as a regional social power. In addition, the contributions point to the limitations of an ambitious EU role in this area.