ABSTRACT
Most literature on European Union (EU)–Pakistan relations has expressed how the EU remains the largest donor and trading partner of Pakistan and how Islamabad has been cooperating with the EU in the areas of democracy, peace and security, counterterrorism, development, good governance, human rights, and humanitarian assistance. However, there is a paucity of the literature pertaining to the dynamics of power relations between the EU and Pakistan, especially against the backdrop of the EU–Pakistan Strategic Engagement Plan signed in 2019. The plan was considered to be as another watershed in a relationship that stretched back to the 1960s. To place this discussion in perspective, the proposed chapter is sectionalised into three. The first section theoretically dilates Pakistan–EU relations through the lens of power relations. Upon laying the theoretical foundation, the succeeding section problematises and critiques the existing structure of the Strategic Engagement Plan and, in so doing, proffers answers to formulated research questions. Methodologically, the chapter employs a qualitative descriptive approach, and, as such, its conclusion is based on the intersection of theoretical underpinnings and interrogated data.
