Practical Role of The EU’s Values in Diplomacy with China

Max Roger Taylor is a trained political scientist with a focus on EU-China diplomacy, based in the United Kingdom. He has taught at the University of Bath and the University of Dundee, published in leading academic journals and his experience has included participation in EU-China dialogues.

'Taylor's well-written book is a must-read. It illuminates what is usually a black box phenomenon. A review of the policy narratives of European diplomats and officials reveals that European civil servants in charge of China engagement have at times acted against the Lisbon Treaty's goals.'Andreas Fulda, Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham’s School of Politics and International Relations, UK'Can the European Union successfully externalise its values in a world increasingly defined by power politics and inter-cultural divergence? In this landmark volume, Max Roger Taylor shows first-hand how diplomats seek to articulate the EU’s normative power in their relations with China, and the challenges they face in doing so. By studying dynamics behind closed doors, Taylor paints a vivid picture of normative power in practice. A must-read for followers of EU foreign policy.'Benjamin Martill, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Edinburgh, UK and Associate at LSE IDEAS

• 1. Introduction: China, the Greatest Test for the EU’s Values and Principles, Part I: Conceptualising and Contextualising the Role of the EU’s Values in EU-China Dialogues, 2. Defining Value Mainstreaming in the EU’s Diplomacy: A Conduit for the EU’s Normative Power with China, 3. EU-China Dialogues and the Role of Values in a Deteriorating Relationship, Part II: Complacency and Self-Censorship in the EU’s Diplomacy with China, 4. An Institutional Culture of Complacency, 5. An Institutional Culture of Self-Censorship, 6. The EU-China Human Rights Dialogue: Examining the Reality Behind a Cautionary Tale that Fuels Self-Censorship, 7. The Value Vacuum in the Internal Meetings Coordinating EU-China Dialogues: Illustrating the Institutionalised Nature of Complacency and Self-Censorship, Part III: Reflectivity and Intercultural (Mis)Understanding in EU-China Dialogues, 8. Value Mainstreaming Approaches and Critical Reflectivity, 9. The Intercultural Barrier to Value Mainstreaming, Part IV: Assessing the Status Quo of EU-China Diplomacy and Charting a More Principled Future, 10. Partial Mainstreaming and Ad-Hoc Coordination: How the EU’s Values Can Enter EU-China Dialogues without Systematic Action and Why this Falls Short, 11. Conclusions: Reinforcing the Paradigm Shift and Strengthening the EU’s Normative Power with China at a Crucial Juncture, Appendix I