Sanctions as an instrument of the EU’s normative power

Abstract

In the context of current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, this article examines sanctions as a tool of normative power for the European Union’s foreign policy. The EU calls itself an normative power. It wants to utilize sanctions to propagate democracy, human rights and the rule of law that are its core values. Nevertheless whether these sanctions are effective and whether they are morally justified is a matter for mutual questioning and discussion. This article intends to examine to what extent EU sanctions help change international behavior patterns and still adhere to the Union’s bases of its concept