Jean Monnet Centre EuroMed Department of Political Studies - University of Catania Jean Monnet Working Papers in Comparative and International Politics Andrea CIAMBRA Università degli Studi di Catania, Scuola Superiore di Catania andrea.ciambra@gmail.com ‘Normative power’ Europe: theory and practice of EU norms. The case of Macedonia July 2008 - JMWP No. 64 Keywords: Normative power; EU foreign policy; CFSP/ESDP; crisis management; Western Balkans; Macedonia; policy approximation Abstract The use of the ‘Normative Power Europe’ concept has stimulated a stream of academic works upon the real extent of a normative, value-based EU ‘foreign policy’ as opposed to a more traditional, or State-like one. This paper reviews the debate in the light of the main theories (realist, pluralist, normative) on the international role of the EU. A deeper analysis of the internal and external consequences of the normative idea of the EU follows. It takes into account the developments of crisis management in the Western Balkans, and the influence upon decision-making and consensus- building among Member States. Lastly, an empirical test according to official data of the EU presence in Macedonia assesses the ambition (and efficiency) of the EU as a peculiar and autonomous international actor and norm-exporter, in the hostile realm of power politics and traditional military intervention.