A normative power or fortress Europe? Normative policy coherence between the European Unionʼs development, migration, and foreign policies

Motivation The article aims to bring together research on policy coherence for development (PCD) with normative theorizing and normative analysis. Purpose The article presents a case study of normative coherence for development between the three policy areas of the European Union (EU): development, migration, and foreign policy. It shows that normative analysis can be fruitfully applied to answer the question of how coherently normative arguments are used over time and between different policy areas. Methods and approach The article offers a comparative study of policy coherence between the three EU policies. Methodologically, it compares the normative logics used in the relevant EU policy documents. Findings The study finds that coherence between the three EU policies has increased since the European “migration crisis” in 2015–2016, but not necessarily sustainably: development policy has become an instrument of migration policy, and both are increasingly coherent with foreign and security policies. Along with these policy changes, the normative logics of argumentation for each policy area have become more uniform, both over time and between the policies. Furthermore, the normative principle of PCD has been replaced with a technical understanding of coherence. Policy implications The findings support the hypothesis that for rules‐based (regional) co‐operation, such as the EU, it matters how the policies are argued. As a focal actor on the global development and migration agendas, EU policies have implications far beyond its borders.