國立臺灣大學政治科學論叢

As a special international actor, the role of the EU’s power is a hot issue in academic debates. Scholars develop several concepts to describe the EU as an actor which is different from that of traditional national states. Despite various concepts being proposed, there so far has been no analytical framework developed to observe the role of international actors’ power. As a result, this essay tries to develop an analytical framework of the role of power, which observes international actors from the perspectives of opportunities, instruments and practices. Among the various descriptions of the EU, “normative power” is a highly-debated one. This essay uses the analytical framework of the role of power to observe the role of the EU’s normative power in international society. This research chooses to analyze environmental issues, as the EU takes a lead in this area and sets “sustainable development” as an important goal in its treaties. The development of environmental issues in the EU during Jean-Claude Juncker’s Mandate will be observed in this research to discuss the EU’s practice of normative power in international society during this difficult time, in which the EU faced both internal and external challenges.