Securitization and Justice Standards in the external Rule of Law Policy of the EU.
A paper by Joris Kocken (University of Amsterdam & University of Groningen)
The EU is building or assisting in building a Rule of Law in various countries. In the policy concerning Rule of Law a clear connection is made between realizing Rule of law and achieving notions of justice. It is this connection, and the claim that the notion of justice served is universal, that also functions as justification for being involved in building Rule of Law outside of the EU-borders. Yet action outside the EU-borders is seldom based on altruism or pure motives. Other interests (and values) are at stake, interests that are to some extent hidden by the universal promises of the Rule of Law policy.
Crucial interests for the EU are, what she sees as, her security interests. Processes of securitization have reached the EU and influence her actions. Security interests tend to be formulated as concrete and particular (and not as universal) to the entity holding the interests. My assumption is that security interests and the idea of exporting universal values through Rule of Law building cannot be (completely) reconciled. It leads me to formulate the next questions exploring the connection between EU security interests and its Rule of Law program.
- To what extent have processes of securitization in the EU penetrated the EU Rule of Law program?
- Is securitization in EU policy making undermining the adoption of (universal) notions of Justice in it’s Rule of Law program, or can they be reconciled in some way?
