The EU has evolved as a significant actor in international politics. Its role in international politics is predominantly understood within the liberal-idealist framework of normative power. But how far the EU is effective in promoting human rights (HR) norms beyond its neighborhood and how do targeted countries respond to such H R norm promotion by the EU? To find answers to these questions, the paper critically examines the human rights dimension in EU-ASEAN relations. It assesses the construction of the EU’s identity as a ‘normative actor’ as proposed by Ian Manner from the vantage point of the Cold War, its end, the September 9/11 attacks, and post-2009. The study concludes that the EU is not consistent with its HR norms promotion in its relations with ASEAN due to its internal dynamic and changing international context, thereby evolving to be a ‘pragmatic’ rather than ‘normative’ actor.
