Purposefully triggering unintended consequences: the European Commission and the uncertain future of the EU-ACP partnership

Carbone, M. (2019) Purposefully triggering unintended consequences: the European Commission and the uncertain future of the EU-ACP partnership. International Spectator, 54(1), pp. 45-59. (doi: 10.1080/03932729.2019.1559563)

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Abstract

The EU’s proposal to renew the EU-ACP Agreement in spite of a number of signals pointing in the opposite direction is, inter alia, the unintended consequence of independent decisions taken in three different policy areas (trade, environment, and foreign and security affairs). The common unintended consequence that the three decisions shared would not have materialised if the European Commission had not purposefully triggered it to justify its vision of future EU-ACP relations. These findings challenge the prevailing and superficial usage of the notion of the unintended as a synonym for unanticipated and undesirable, and demonstrate that unintended consequences do not necessarily presuppose lack of anticipation, but may well be the result of calculation by policymakers.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Carbone, Professor Maurizio
Authors: Carbone, M.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
Journal Name:International Spectator
Publisher:Taylor and Francis
ISSN:0393-2729
ISSN (Online):1751-9721
Published Online:01 March 2019
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2019 Istituto Affari Internazionali
First Published:First published in International Spectator 54(1):45-59
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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