Mind The Gap: Narrowing the Legitimacy Gap in EU–Israeli Relations

Abstract: The EU strives to export its normative acquis to other parts of the world, promoting extraterritorial ‘Europeanization’. Such attempts are particularly evident in the Middle East and North Africa. In order to serve there as a civilian, normative power, the EU should rely on its economic forte and equip itself with legitimacy. However, such legitimacy is lacking, from an Israeli perspective, thereby making it difficult for the EU to position itself as a normative power in this part of the world. The article identifies and analyses concrete measures that can reduce the legitimacy deficit of the EU in the eyes of Israelis, thereby paving the way for its more constructive, normative contribution to the Middle East. Although the analysis is conducted through the prism of EU–Israel relations, some of its findings may be found to be applicable mutatis mutandis to other countries that face normative pressures from the EU.

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