Im Namen liberaler Normen?

EU-ACP relations and especially the relations to the Southern African Development Community stand at the center of this book. The change of this postcolonial relationship is analyzed as a change of governance rationales and practices, which culminates in the advent of characteristic liberal and postliberal governmentalities. This implies replacing the protectionist EU-ACP regime by a mode of liberal governance shaped by equal partners and harmonizing, self-disciplining policies. An important aspect for this process is the manifestation of "normative power", which turns out to act as a highly contested political instrument within a postcolonial setting. The book informs the debate on "Normative Power Europe" from the perspective of governmentality studies and outlines a research agenda for Critical Governance Studies in the fields of International Relations respectively EU Studies.