The EU in the non-European world: the case of ASEAN and Myanmar

This chapter investigates attempts by the European Union (EU) to enhance its image in the Global South by interacting with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Myanmar. It argues that the EU followed two contradictory positions, showing a conflict between its normative self-identity and its strategic interests. It questions normative power, diffusion theory, norm socialisation and foreign policy analysis to verify the capability of these approaches to illuminate the argument. Critical perspectives on EU activities on Myanmar and ASEAN are employed in this chapter, in addition to interviews conducted in Myanmar in 2018.