ABSTRACT
The urgency attached to the agenda of international terrorism and human and drugs trafficking has forced the European Union (EU) into new cooperation with various regional actors. In this context Africa and Asia have become increasingly significant. Such inter-regional relations have taken on new dimensions in the context of contemporary international politics framed by new security challenges and new competitive forces particularly from Asia. Africa is a significant actor mainly as a supplier of natural resources and as the origin of an increasing number of illegal migrants to Europe. The EU presents itself as an international 'civilian power' (Duchêne 1972; Telo 2006; Whitman 1998, 2002), which attempts to use soft power to influence international affairs and to strengthen its relationships with Asia and Africa, and a 'normative power' (Archibugi 1995; Manners 2002), which tries to commit other areas of the world to regulated global governance, insisting that international anarchy will not benefit anyone in the long term. Described as a unique political community with its particular form of regional integration and non comparable governance model, the EU is moving beyond its territory, and attempting to promote regional integration in Asia and Africa. The EU's policies towards Africa and Asia are intended to shape its role as a global player, and to enhance the prospects for peace, security and development in Europe, Asia and Africa.
