Masaryk university

Conclusion

Our study has focused on the EU-Azerbaijan relations which we have examined from the Normative Power Europe perspective that was developed by Manners. A general problem addressed in the thesis is the evaluation of the European Union as a normative actor. However, in the study we have set the European Neighbourhood Policy in the post-Eastern Partnership time as a context for the analysis and the relationships with Azerbaijan as a case study for the reasons we have already stated in the beginning of our research. To evaluate these relationships form normative aspect we have formulated 3 research questions.

Applying qualitative analysis of the ENP/EaP documents from 2009-2013 we intended to answer the first research question:

1. 
   Does the European Union maintain normative agenda in the relationships with neighbourhood?
   

Qualitative analysis has concluded that all of the documents reflect all 3 normative categories we have derived from the theoretical framework of the thesis. Additionally, the principles most frequently mentioned in the analysed documents have been totally matching with those mentioned in the theoretical part. But, it should also be noted that the documents also contain non-normative elements, namely conditionality. However, the affirmative answer to the first research question proved the relevance of our study and increased the feasibility of the second question.

2. 
   Does the European Union maintain normative agenda in the relationships with Azerbaijan?
   

Azerbaijan represents a unique case owing to its economic attractiveness for the European countries, large energy resources the country possesses and a complicated geopolitical environment in which the government acts. In other words, it represented the case when the EU faces a dilemma of pragmatic interests and normative values. Therefore we had to be ascertained that the EU retains its normativity even in such case. So, to answer this question we have conducted another qualitative analysis with the same parameters but the subject was the contractual relations embraced by the EU-Azerbaijan relations within the EaP context during the same time-frame. The qualitative analysis provided extensive evidences of all 3 categories in the documents. Improvement and approximation of democracy, human rights protection, rule of law and fundamental freedoms with European standards was a primary normative message deductible from these documents. Despite a number of non-normative elements, especially energy and economic issues, the question has been answered affirmatively.

3. 
   Does the European Union evoke normative impact on the freedom of expression in Azerbaijan?
   

The third research question is posed in line with the theoretical framework which argues that promotion of normative values by the EU using normative mechanisms at its disposal should result in normative impact. We have focused on the freedom of expression in Azerbaijan and applying process tracing method described developments in the media environment and respective reactions from the EU and local officials. Foremost, we have ascertained that the EU was acting normatively by expressing its concern and condemning authorities through resolutions and statements. This was additional implication derived from the initial research question. However, in the course of seeking for the causal relationship between the reaction of the EU and positive development on the ground, we failed to find such connection. Hence the answer to the last research question is negative.

The conclusions we can draw from our case study match with sceptical viewpoints of several authors (Emerson, Noutcheva and Popescu) about the EU’s normative capabilities. Failure of the EU in the last question strengthens alternative points of view, among which we can list a more successful role of the EU in the development of technical areas, namely transport, border management and energy security. The case of Azerbaijan has also indicated that cooperation on technical spheres is more welcomed by the regimes inclined to authoritarianism, for whom democratization process is burdensome. Moreover, conclusion of our study supports Korosteleva’s arguments about the ambiguity of the policies conducted by the EU in the region via European Neighbourhood Policy. This ambiguity in our case study has been reflected in the incoherent activities of the EU officials from various institutions. While top-level officials such as Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission were rather prudent when speaking of normative agenda in their meetings with the President of Azerbaijan, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy was more specific on these issues and yet the European Parliament was even more determined in its resolutions so that causing counter-resolution from Azerbaijani Parliament.

Furthermore, the case of the EU-Azerbaijan relations also illustrates the relevance of concerns regarding the role of membership incentive in boosting normative changes and its lack from the current agenda of the EU in regard to the Eastern neighbourhood. However, in our study this has been more about the absence of membership objective in Azerbaijani foreign policy rather than unwillingness of the EU to offer such incentive. But obviously the failures of achieving desired impact in Azerbaijan, has been hindered foremost by the Azerbaijani leadership and its disinclination to integration. The statements and speeches of president Aliyev and speaker Hasanov have demonstrated this tendency, termed by Shirinov as preference for “cooperation” instead of “integration” (Shirinov 2011: 74). Finally, the study has confirmed an important place that energy security occupies in bilateral relations and, thus, it may be additional argument supporting the concerns of those who suppose that it keeps normative agenda down. However, these are by-products of our research, as far as in our research design we have not focused on particular reasons behind the failure of normative interaction between the EU-Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, these conclusions add up to existing literature devoted to this topic and further in-depth analyses on them may bring to light valuable findings.