Paper Titles & Abstracts

The aim of the paper is to clarify the mechanisms of external Europeanization. Studies so far claim that the more distant a country is from the EU core the more indirect the mechanisms of the external Europeanization are. The paper problematizes this claim. Empirically it focuses on the case of social conditionality (SC) as applied in the area of social trade policy. Theoretically it follows Normal Accident Theory, as adapted in the area of EU studies. The paper focuses on the interactions of the web of actors found in this policy area. It distinguishes between complex and tightly linked interactions. It hypothesises that the less complex and the more tightly linked actors are the more direct the mechanisms of external Europeanization.SC is a 'social' trade policy instrument that the EU includes to its trade agreements with developing countries through the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) in order to promote the ratification and application of basic human rights, and labour, sustainable development and good governance standards. The GSP is a trade policy programme that allows the exemption of developing countries from exports tariffs as a way of assisting their growth and development. SC is a 'hard' instrument in the sense that it consists of both a positive aspect (carrots) and a negative one (sticks). Developing countries that ratify and apply basic human rights, and labour, sustainable development and good governance standards qualify for additional trade preferences (carrots), while failure of compliance results to the withdrawal of the preferences (sticks).