ABSTRACT
Scholars have debated the nature and role of the European Union (EU) in inter national affairs for over four decades. One of the most prominent role con ceptions in this debate has been that of civilian power Europe. The concept, coined by François Duchêne (1973), emphasizes the Union’s distinctive subjec tivity as based on civilian and primarily economic means, persuasion, and the ambition to exert a “civilizing” influence on international relations (Peterson and Lavenex 2012).
