The European Union as a smart power in the international scene: treaty-based commercial policy and objectives of new-generation free trade agreements
The European Union as a smart power in the international scene: treaty-based commercial policy and objectives of new-generation free trade agreements

Summary/Abstract: Smart power can be defined as an effective combination of both hard and soft power. The article's aim is to examine the relationship between the European Union's position in international affairs and the treaty-based commercial policy it pursues, as well as to demonstrate that negotiations of trade agreements and their objectives allow it to be a smart power. To achieve the research objective, the study employs empirical methods, including indirect observation and descriptive analysis, as well as deductive and inductive reasoning. The research demonstrates that the European Union combines measures of specific pressure (conditionality of granted preferences) based on hard power with soft power measures, as a consequence of which at the international stage it starts to play a role that can be described as smart power.

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