ABSTRACT
The central focus of this chapter is an assessment of the concept of ‘civilian power Europe’, which has been associated with the characterization and examination of the international role of the European Union (EU) for almost 30 years. The chapter commences by outlining the notion of civilian power Europe as originally formulated, and then proceeds to examine how the idea has been used, adapted and refuted across time. The purpose of this examination is to facilitate an exploration of whether the idea has continuing utility in the early twenty-first century. The chapter examines the notion of civilian power both as a concept for the analysis of the international role of the EU and also as a role that the EU has sought to cultivate. In line with the understanding of roles in the Introduction to this volume, civilian power Europe (CPE) can also be explored as a pattern of behaviour which is expected of the EU by its member states and third parties and has become considered as the appropriate form of behaviour through which the EU should conduct its international relations.
