The Challenges of Peace in Afghanistan

The role of norms in behavior of actors and the concept of “Normative Foreign Policy” are subject of interest for some theories of international relations. Based on these deliberations, some scholars aimed to apply this theoretical concept in international politics. In line with these efforts, some European researchers introduced the European Union as a normative actor and coined the concept of “Normative Power Europe”. The advocates of Normative Power Europe believe that the European Union is a distinct actor in international politics as well as a benign power whose foreign policy is not merely based on limited material interests but also on normative aims. Among the spheres of this self-regarded normative foreign policy is the policy of the EU towards its neighborhood. The present article aims to assess the foreign policy of the EU towards Belarus and to verify to what extent this policy was in line with variables of normative foreign policy. The authors believe that while in some aspects the foreign policy of the EU possesses some normative variables, it is not in a position to be named as normative foreign policy. Therefore, the concept of Normative Power Europe is to some extent exaggerated.