Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

This thesis explores the normative power, as understood by Ian Manners (2002), of the EUs Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) in the fishing industry. It does this by investigating how the human rights aspects of the CS3D are perceived by stakeholders in the European Union’s fishery governance, and in what way the CS3D could shape the EUs normative power in the fishing industry. Through a methodology inspired by grounded theory key stakeholders were interviewed and the data was thematically analysed to produce a conceptual framework and three examples of norm dissemination. The conceptual framework highlights political will, capacity, and enforcement as the three key perspectives of the CS3Ds normative power in the fishing industry. Three ways of disseminating norms through the CS3D are derived from the data: upholding international standards, increasing accountability, and to lever the EUs reputation. Results show that there is a high willingness to implement human rights due diligence in the EU but that the capacity to enforce the directive in the fishing industry is lacking.