Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GLOBUS (Reconsidering European Contributions to Global Justice)

Teaser

Since its inception the EU has sought to play a strong role in promoting and safeguarding values at the global level. In fact, it presents itself as one of the most important normative powers in the world. Yet, the EU’s self-understanding requires further scrutiny.GLOBUS...

Summary

Since its inception the EU has sought to play a strong role in promoting and safeguarding values at the global level. In fact, it presents itself as one of the most important normative powers in the world. Yet, the EU’s self-understanding requires further scrutiny.

GLOBUS combines normative and empirical analysis in order to critically assess the Union’s contribution to global justice. The lack of consensus with regard to the very concept of justice, as well as with regard to the grounds on which duties to others may be justified, is a challenge. GLOBUS therefore develops a conceptual scheme that takes the fact of contestation into account. It delineates three different conceptions of how the EU might contribute to ensure a more just global order. The first conceives of justice as non-dominance, the second of justice as impartiality and the third of justice as mutual recognition.

GLOBUS combines analyses of the EU’s positions and policies on key aspect of global justice, with in-depth empirical case studies in order to reveal the practice of the EU’s justice promotion. Based on our findings, as well as on a general reflection on the EU’s global role, the project will draw conclusions regarding the extent and means by which the EU contributes to global justice and how policies, institutional structures and procedures might be revised in order to better and more effectively safeguard key principles.

The main objectives of the GLOBUS project are:
• To establish an analytical model that will specify and assess the EU’s impact on global justice
• To identify pre-requisites and countervailing forces in the construction of a foreign policy that successfully promotes justice in an increasingly multipolar global order.
• To establish new empirical knowledge of the EU’s actual impact on key dimensions of global justice related specifically to climate change, migration, trade and development, security.

Work performed

WP1 is responsible for establishing the analytical framework of the project.
WP1 main achievements:
• Kick-off conference, Framework paper on analytical scheme,
• Conceptual framework for analysing justice in the international realm
• Workshop “Conceptualising Global Justice”
• Four papers in the GLOBUS Research Paper Series addressing the three conceptions of global political justice
• Two targeted case studies completed
• Three workshops on conceptual and methodological issues across WPs 1-5
• Workshop on Gender in EU external policies
• Section at EISA Conference 2017
• Panels at several international conferences


WP2 investigates the EU’s contribution to justice in the domain of climate change. Research has started by an examination of different positions on climate justice.
WP2 achievements:
• Paper on positions in climate justice
• Manuscript on the development of the climate justice debate
• Template for applying GLOBUS’ conceptual framework to WP2 case studies
• Workshop “Climate change and global justice”
• Traced the development of the climate justice debate within the EU
• empirical analysis of EU involvement in the development of the climate regime
• two papers in the GLOBUS Research Paper Series, as well as a journal article and a book chapter.

WP3 investigates the EU’s approach to migration. WP3 researchers have made a first appraisal of the differences across member states and the EU with regard to notions of global justice in this field. Findings highlight the inevitable tensions between ideal aspirations and the concrete handling of migration.
WP3 achievements:
• Report on European definitions of migration
• Template for applying the project’s conceptual framework to WP3
• Workshop ‘Justice on the Move: Evaluating Migration Policies in the European Space’
• Workshop ‘Between Rights and Fear: Evaluating the Migration-Terrorism Nexus in Europe’
• Four journal articles, one book chapter as well as three GLOBUS Research Papers have been published

WP4 investigates the EU’s contribution to justice in the domain of trade and development.
WP4 achievements:
• Workshop “Trade and Global Justice: EU and Southern Africa”
• Template for applying the project’s conceptual framework to WP4
• Literature review for WP4 case studies
• Collected evidence of relevance to case studies of EU trade relations, as well as with regard to the EU’s aid policies and its policies on Aid for Trade
• Two GLOBUS Research Papers have been published, and two journal articles

WP5 addresses questions of security, cooperation and conflict. Research has focused on the state-of-the-art analysis of “justice” arguments in the literature and policy elite statements revolving around the EU’s security strategic documents.
WP5 achievements:
• Template for applying the project’s conceptual framework WP5 case studies,
• Literature review for WP5 case studies
• Two GLOBUS Research Papers have been published
• Workshop ‘Gender, Justice and EU Security Policy’

Information on the aims and objectives of GLOBUS, as well as on preliminary findings, have been disseminated through the GLOBUS Research Papers and Reports, the GLOBUS website, newsletter, blog, Twitter and Facebook. The project has drawn on the insights of policy stakeholders through its first policy dialogue meeting, and through participation of stakeholders at all the project’s workshops and conferences.

Final results

GLOBUS moves beyond the state of the art theoretically by developing three alternative conceptions of global justice. With these conceptual innovations, GLOBUS avoids the dichotomy of Idealism/Realism which prevails in so many studies of International Relations, as well as the reliance on a single broad category of ‘values/norms/ethics’ that is often contrasted with an equally broad category of ‘interests’. This is necessary in order to understand the multifaceted dilemmas of promoting justice globally, as well as to properly assess the EU’s impact.

GLOBUS analyses the EU’s strengths and weaknesses as a value based actor and its ability to shape the international agenda by analysing if failure and/or success are linked to a particular approach to justice promotion. By the combination of in depth investigation of migration, climate change, security and development/trade, as well as the cross cutting issues of gender and human rights, GLOBUS also aims to break new ground empirically.

GLOBUS will actively engage with stakeholders and leaders in partner and third countries, listening to their experiences of EU efforts to achieve justice and working with them to understand alternative pathways to achieve shared ends. These debates are all the more critical in a world where traditional power distributions are shifting and challenges to the basic principles of both the post-war and post-Cold War settlements are multiplying.

GLOBUS yields knowledge of direct relevance to decision-makers in parliaments and in the executive branches of EU member states and partner countries. GLOBUS also both engages with, and offers insights to civil society, and further aims to contribute to a greater public awareness of different types of justice claims.

Website & more info

More info: https://www.globus.uio.no/.