ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the collective European approaches to development policy. European spaces of development' are described as a combination of development aid, attempts to regulate spaces of interaction and the promotion of intra- and interregional cooperation. The chapter addresses the specificities of European development policy as well as its underlying interests and influences. It highlights how the region as a distinct geopolitical space occupies a dominant position in the European Union's (EU's) lexicon and political portfolio, with regional integration functioning as the key vehicle for the EU's objective to align internal and external agendas. The chapter presents the empirical data that is based on a wider research project examining EU rope's role as a geopolitical and development actor in East Africa. It explains the understanding of the European spaces of development' as distinct spaces of interaction between the EU and developing countries that are aligned with the EU's preferred mode of policy conduct.
