ABSTRACT
Can the EU be characterised as a distinctive actor because of its commitment to a human rights-based approach to development? In the concluding chapter I revisit the main arguments made in the book and synthesise the main limits and ambiguities that follow from the EU’s interpretation of a rights-based approach to development. I further discuss how my findings contribute to three scholarly debates; whether the EU’s policies are distinctive to those of states; on the democratic qualities of the EU’s external policies; and lastly the contemporary debate on norm contestation. Finally, I discuss some policy implications of my findings and consider how the findings in this book might feed into future research agendas.
