Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 the Moldovan government has become both fragile and unpredictable. With a high susceptibility to external pressures, the country has fallen into a limbo between democracy and autocracy and is today classified as a hybrid regime. Since Moldovas entry to the EU's Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership in 2008, the country's sensitivity to social and political change has become evident. The EU has acted as a normative power in the country in several ways by pursuing a neighborhood policy that seeks to consolidate European norms. This study aims to explain how the EU can be seen as a normative power in Moldova through the theoretical framework of Normative Power Europe (NPE). The thesis also aims to descripture how the EU uses the five basic principles of NPE regarding peace, freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law as normative guidelines for influencing the country's political direction. A conclusion can be drawn that the EU appears to be using the neighborhood policy tools to consolidate European norms through sanctions, association agreements and treaties, thus keeping Moldova's political development in an iron fist.

Dans cette recherche, un modèle de propagation d'ondes de choc sur grandes distances sur un environnement urbain est construit et validé. L'approche consiste à utiliser l'Equation Parabolique Nonlinéaire (NPE) comme base. Ce modèle est ensuite étendu afin de prendre en compte d'autres effets relatifs à la propagation du son en milieu extérieur (surfaces non planes, couches poreuses, etc.). La NPE est résolue en utilisant la méthode des différences finies et donne des résultats en accord avec d'autres méthodes numériques. Ce modèle déterministe est ensuite utilisé comme base pour la construction d'un modèle stochastique de propagation sur environnements urbains. La Théorie de l'Information et le Principe du Maximum d'Entropie permettent la construction d'un modèle probabiliste d'incertitudes intégrant la variabilité du système dans la NPE. Des résultats de référence sont obtenus grâce à une méthode exacte et permettent ainsi de valider les développements théoriques et l'approche utilisée.

Force est de constater aujourd’hui que la localisation d’un bien ou d’une personne est devenue une nécessité. Plusieurs solutions existent en extérieur, largement dominées par le système GPS. Pour la localisation en intérieur, la précision se dégrade en raison des trajets multiples et de l’atténuation des signaux traversant les murs. Cette thèse se focalise sur la problématique de localisation à l’intérieur d’un bâtiment en utilisant les technologies présentes dans des smartphones et des tablettes fonctionnant sous le système d’exploitation Android disponible dans divers marques. Les systèmes de localisation en intérieur exploitent différents supports tels que les ondes radio-fréquence (RF) ou les capteurs inertiels embarqués dans un terminal. Dans le cas RF, ils utilisent des points références dont la répartition sur la zone couverte influe sur la performance en localisation. Une première contribution est un développement d’algorithme d’optimisation d’emplacement des balises basé sur le recuit simulé. Les signaux extraits des capteurs inertiels sont utilisés par la navigation pédestre à l’estime (NPE) pour déterminer le trajet effectué depuis une position connue. Ils dépendent de la sensibilité des paramètres intrinsèques de ces capteurs et ils sont corrompus par des bruits. Dans le cas NPE, une calibration permet d’obtenir des données exploitables pour l’estimation de l’orientation de déplacement et pour la détection des pas. Cette orientation est supposée identique à celle du terminal mais il y a un intérêt à prendre en compte le biais d’orientation entre les deux. Une autre contribution est une proposition d’algorithme de détection des pas exploitant la logique floue. / Nowadays, the localization of a device or person has become mandatory. If many solutions exist for outdoor environment, as the GPS one, any fails to provide an expected accuracy for indoor environment because of the multipath phenomena and the attenuation of signals crossing walls. This thesis focuses on the localization problem in buildings by using existed technologies in smartphones and tablets managed by Android OS - which is available in several brands. The indoor localization systems are using different technologies like radio-frequency (RF) waves or inertial sensors embedded in handsets. In the RF case, they use anchors or beacons, whose position impacts the localization performance for the covered zone. Our first contribution was the placement optimization of beacons using simulated annealing algorithm. Next to improve the localization performance, the inertial sensors, embedded in smartphones, have been used. The pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) algorithm employs the extracted signals from the inertial sensors and determines the path done since a known position. These extracted signals are affected by the intrinsic parameters of sensors and they are corrupted by noises. The calibration of the sensors is compulsory to obtain data that could be used to estimate the walking orientation and the number of done steps by the user. It is often supposed that the walking orientation is the same as the smartphone orientation; however it might be interesting to consider the bias between these two orientations. A last contribution, in this thesis, consists on a proposed algorithm for step detection using fuzzy logic.

La evaluación parcial dirigida por narrowing (NPE: Narrowing-driven Partial Evaluation) es una técnica potente para la especialización de sistemas de reescritura, i.e., para el componente de primer orden de muchos lenguajes declarativos (lógico) funcionales como Haskell, Curry o Toy. Los evaluadores parciales se clasifican en dos grandes categorías: online y offline, de acuerdo al momento temporal en que se consideran los aspectos de terminación del proceso de especialización. Los evaluadores parciales online son usualmente más precisos ya que tienen más información disponible. Los evaluadores parciales offline proceden comúnmente en dos etapas; la primera etapa procesa un programa (e.g., para identificar aquellas llamadas a función que se pueden desplegar sin riesgo de no terminación) e incluye anotaciones para guiar las computaciones parciales; entonces, una segunda etapa, la de evaluación parcial propiamente dicha, sólo tiene que obedecer las anotaciones y por tanto el especializador es mucho más rápido que en la aproximación online. En esta tesis se presenta un nuevo esquema de evaluación parcial dirigido por narrowing, más eficiente y que asegura la terminación siguiendo el estilo offline. Para ello, identificamos una caracterización de programas cuasi-terminantes a los que llamamos "no crecientes". En tales programas, las computaciones por narrowing necesario presentan sólo un conjunto finito de términos diferentes (módulo renombramiento de variables). La propiedad de la cuasi-terminación es importante toda vez que su presencia es regularmente una condición suficiente para la terminación del proceso de especialización. Sin embargo, la clase de programas cuasi-terminantes es muy restrictiva, por lo que introducimos un algoritmo que acepta programas inductivamente secuenciales---una clase mucho más amplia sobre la que está definido el narrowing necesario---y anota aquellas partes que violan la caracterización de programas no crecientes. Para procesar de mane / Ramos Díaz, JG. (2007). Una aproximación offline a la evaluación parcial dirigida por narrowing [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/1888

近年來在美國有一種”新興產業”崛起，部份非專利權實施者NPE，專門尋找實際生產商品或提供服務的知名企業為對象，以提出專利侵權訴訟的方式，加上持有法院核發之禁制令，威脅被告以達到強迫授權或合解的目的，一般稱之為「Patent Trolls」。 按專利制度的二大政策目標，一為提供發明人發明的誘因，一為鼓勵發明人揭露其發明技術內容，而Patent Trolls投機性授權模式所造成的問題，是否會破壞專利法之立法目的，而降低企業投資創新研發的誘因，乃值得觀注且為有待解決的議題。 故本文之主要目的乃從美國與台灣之專利改革與實務判決，探討Patent Trolls之解決之道。 / Recently there is a “new industry” in the U.S., some NPEs brought patent infringement suits against famous enterprises, which manufacture product or supply service and threatened with injunction, commonly called “Patent Trolls”. Among the two policy objects of patent law, one is giving the inducement to invent, the other is encourage inventors to disclose their inventions. Whether the problems caused by the opportunistic licensing models of Patent Trolls would cause damage to the object of patent law and decrease the driving force to invent of the enterprises is an issue worth observing and solving. Consequently, the object of this thesis is to discuss the solution of the Patent Trolls issues in light of Patent Reform and cases in the U.S. and Taiwan.

A new measurement of the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) is being developed at TRIUMF, where a high density source of ultra cold neutrons (UCN) is currently under construction. A fast, high-efficiency UCN detector is needed for the experiment, and a 6-Li doped glass scintillation detector is being explored for this purpose. In this work, simulations and test measurements were carried out to optimize the light guide design for the new UCN detector. Acrylic and air-core light guides, the latter with two different reflecting surfaces, were considered. Three prototype light guides were constructed and tested, and results were compared with simulations. The best solution was found to be an acrylic guide, wrapped with mylar foil. For a guide 12 cm in length as required by the experimental layout, a lower limit of approximately 25 photoelectrons per neutron capture was established for the proposed geometry and photomultiplier configuration. / May 2016

Thesis Abstract: Chapter I: Regional burden sharing of GHG mitigation policies – A Canadian perspective. The distribution of the burden of cost arising from the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a contentious issue in policy discussions; more so among regional jurisdictions in the federalist countries with decentralized authorities over environmental regulations. In this setting, often the policy discussions are focused on the distribution of regional emission reduction targets that, in turn, entails negotiations over the distribution of the scarcity rents and the regional transfers of wealth. The allocation of regional emission entitlements is thus a key factor that could hinder the political feasibility of a national GHG mitigation policy. In this paper, we build a multi-region computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the Canadian economy to assess the implications of different burden sharing rules governing the national GHG abatement policy with a cap-and-trade system of emission permits. In addition to assessing the impacts of traditional regional emissions allocation rules that involve intra-regional transfers of wealth, we consider a particular emission allocation that avoids such transfers, which may be a more palatable option given the context of likely fierce negotiations over the issue. Our results indicate to differing outcomes depending on the allocation policy in use. The CGE framework is also able to shed light on the transmission mechanisms that drive the results underlying the policy options. Chapter II: Endogenous technological change and emission allowances. Given the imminent threat of global warming due to GHG emissions, a number of emission mitigation policies have been proposed in the literature. However, they generally suffer from the classical equity-efficiency trade-off. High costs from equity concerns often render environmental policies politically unattractive and thus hard to implement. Recent advancement in the climate policy modeling literature that incorporates endogenous technological change (ETC) into the framework can potentially bring new insights into this debate. Using an inter-temporal, multi-sector CGE approach with ETC incorporated into the framework, this paper builds a model that focuses on the equity-efficiency debate for the policymakers. Canada is chosen as the country of investigation for this purpose. The paper provides a new welfare ranking of four permit allocation policies that address the equity-efficiency trade-off. In a second-best setting with pre-existing distortions, output-based allocation (OBA) of emission permits is compared to three other policy options: (i) an emissions trading system with grandfathered allocation (GFA), (ii) an auction permit trading system where permit revenue is recycled to lower payroll taxes (RPT), and (iii) a hybrid of OBA and R&D subsidy (O-R&D). We find that adapting OBA, as well as O-R&D, is welfare improving over GFA. The implicit output subsidy, entailed in the OBA policy, mitigates against the rising cost effect in the GFA policy. This is reinforced through added investment incentive in R&D when ETC in incorporated into the framework. With O-R&D, since the R&D subsidy corrects for market imperfections in the knowledge accumulation process, the effect is further bolstered, culminating into mitigation of uneven distributional outcome for energy-intensive industries as a whole. Contrary to previous results, we also find that, in terms of the welfare metric, OBA unequivocally improves the distributional outcome across sectors as compared to the RPT policy. Inclusion of ETC also unequivocally generates a higher welfare ranking for all permit policy schemes. Chapter III: Emission permit banking and induced technological change. This paper attempts to undertake an exploratory research by integrating two themes in the emission mitigation policy literature, which include: the inter-temporal emission permit banking and borrowing and the role of induced technological change in emission mitigation. Using a simple optimal control approach, we construct a unified framework that evaluates the optimal path of emissions and the optimal trajectory of permit price when both inter-temporal banking and borrowing of permits and the effects of induced technological change (ITC) are present. We find that ITC leads to a declining emission trajectory over time. The effect of ITC on the optimal permit price path, however, is ambiguous and critically depends on the extent of marginal cost saving that emanates from emission-saving technological innovation.

Thesis Abstract: Chapter I: Regional burden sharing of GHG mitigation policies – A Canadian perspective. The distribution of the burden of cost arising from the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a contentious issue in policy discussions; more so among regional jurisdictions in the federalist countries with decentralized authorities over environmental regulations. In this setting, often the policy discussions are focused on the distribution of regional emission reduction targets that, in turn, entails negotiations over the distribution of the scarcity rents and the regional transfers of wealth. The allocation of regional emission entitlements is thus a key factor that could hinder the political feasibility of a national GHG mitigation policy. In this paper, we build a multi-region computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the Canadian economy to assess the implications of different burden sharing rules governing the national GHG abatement policy with a cap-and-trade system of emission permits. In addition to assessing the impacts of traditional regional emissions allocation rules that involve intra-regional transfers of wealth, we consider a particular emission allocation that avoids such transfers, which may be a more palatable option given the context of likely fierce negotiations over the issue. Our results indicate to differing outcomes depending on the allocation policy in use. The CGE framework is also able to shed light on the transmission mechanisms that drive the results underlying the policy options. Chapter II: Endogenous technological change and emission allowances. Given the imminent threat of global warming due to GHG emissions, a number of emission mitigation policies have been proposed in the literature. However, they generally suffer from the classical equity-efficiency trade-off. High costs from equity concerns often render environmental policies politically unattractive and thus hard to implement. Recent advancement in the climate policy modeling literature that incorporates endogenous technological change (ETC) into the framework can potentially bring new insights into this debate. Using an inter-temporal, multi-sector CGE approach with ETC incorporated into the framework, this paper builds a model that focuses on the equity-efficiency debate for the policymakers. Canada is chosen as the country of investigation for this purpose. The paper provides a new welfare ranking of four permit allocation policies that address the equity-efficiency trade-off. In a second-best setting with pre-existing distortions, output-based allocation (OBA) of emission permits is compared to three other policy options: (i) an emissions trading system with grandfathered allocation (GFA), (ii) an auction permit trading system where permit revenue is recycled to lower payroll taxes (RPT), and (iii) a hybrid of OBA and R&D subsidy (O-R&D). We find that adapting OBA, as well as O-R&D, is welfare improving over GFA. The implicit output subsidy, entailed in the OBA policy, mitigates against the rising cost effect in the GFA policy. This is reinforced through added investment incentive in R&D when ETC in incorporated into the framework. With O-R&D, since the R&D subsidy corrects for market imperfections in the knowledge accumulation process, the effect is further bolstered, culminating into mitigation of uneven distributional outcome for energy-intensive industries as a whole. Contrary to previous results, we also find that, in terms of the welfare metric, OBA unequivocally improves the distributional outcome across sectors as compared to the RPT policy. Inclusion of ETC also unequivocally generates a higher welfare ranking for all permit policy schemes. Chapter III: Emission permit banking and induced technological change. This paper attempts to undertake an exploratory research by integrating two themes in the emission mitigation policy literature, which include: the inter-temporal emission permit banking and borrowing and the role of induced technological change in emission mitigation. Using a simple optimal control approach, we construct a unified framework that evaluates the optimal path of emissions and the optimal trajectory of permit price when both inter-temporal banking and borrowing of permits and the effects of induced technological change (ITC) are present. We find that ITC leads to a declining emission trajectory over time. The effect of ITC on the optimal permit price path, however, is ambiguous and critically depends on the extent of marginal cost saving that emanates from emission-saving technological innovation.

Thesis Abstract: Chapter I: Regional burden sharing of GHG mitigation policies – A Canadian perspective. The distribution of the burden of cost arising from the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a contentious issue in policy discussions; more so among regional jurisdictions in the federalist countries with decentralized authorities over environmental regulations. In this setting, often the policy discussions are focused on the distribution of regional emission reduction targets that, in turn, entails negotiations over the distribution of the scarcity rents and the regional transfers of wealth. The allocation of regional emission entitlements is thus a key factor that could hinder the political feasibility of a national GHG mitigation policy. In this paper, we build a multi-region computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the Canadian economy to assess the implications of different burden sharing rules governing the national GHG abatement policy with a cap-and-trade system of emission permits. In addition to assessing the impacts of traditional regional emissions allocation rules that involve intra-regional transfers of wealth, we consider a particular emission allocation that avoids such transfers, which may be a more palatable option given the context of likely fierce negotiations over the issue. Our results indicate to differing outcomes depending on the allocation policy in use. The CGE framework is also able to shed light on the transmission mechanisms that drive the results underlying the policy options. Chapter II: Endogenous technological change and emission allowances. Given the imminent threat of global warming due to GHG emissions, a number of emission mitigation policies have been proposed in the literature. However, they generally suffer from the classical equity-efficiency trade-off. High costs from equity concerns often render environmental policies politically unattractive and thus hard to implement. Recent advancement in the climate policy modeling literature that incorporates endogenous technological change (ETC) into the framework can potentially bring new insights into this debate. Using an inter-temporal, multi-sector CGE approach with ETC incorporated into the framework, this paper builds a model that focuses on the equity-efficiency debate for the policymakers. Canada is chosen as the country of investigation for this purpose. The paper provides a new welfare ranking of four permit allocation policies that address the equity-efficiency trade-off. In a second-best setting with pre-existing distortions, output-based allocation (OBA) of emission permits is compared to three other policy options: (i) an emissions trading system with grandfathered allocation (GFA), (ii) an auction permit trading system where permit revenue is recycled to lower payroll taxes (RPT), and (iii) a hybrid of OBA and R&D subsidy (O-R&D). We find that adapting OBA, as well as O-R&D, is welfare improving over GFA. The implicit output subsidy, entailed in the OBA policy, mitigates against the rising cost effect in the GFA policy. This is reinforced through added investment incentive in R&D when ETC in incorporated into the framework. With O-R&D, since the R&D subsidy corrects for market imperfections in the knowledge accumulation process, the effect is further bolstered, culminating into mitigation of uneven distributional outcome for energy-intensive industries as a whole. Contrary to previous results, we also find that, in terms of the welfare metric, OBA unequivocally improves the distributional outcome across sectors as compared to the RPT policy. Inclusion of ETC also unequivocally generates a higher welfare ranking for all permit policy schemes. Chapter III: Emission permit banking and induced technological change. This paper attempts to undertake an exploratory research by integrating two themes in the emission mitigation policy literature, which include: the inter-temporal emission permit banking and borrowing and the role of induced technological change in emission mitigation. Using a simple optimal control approach, we construct a unified framework that evaluates the optimal path of emissions and the optimal trajectory of permit price when both inter-temporal banking and borrowing of permits and the effects of induced technological change (ITC) are present. We find that ITC leads to a declining emission trajectory over time. The effect of ITC on the optimal permit price path, however, is ambiguous and critically depends on the extent of marginal cost saving that emanates from emission-saving technological innovation.

[pt] O presente trabalho se desdobra através do dentro/ fora da União Europeia (UE) perguntando que poder existe na narrativa de poder normativo? E o que essa narrativa faz com a UE? Essas questões são investigadas movendo o foco de análise para perceber em que extensão e de que maneiras as relações com Outros afetam a identidade da UE. Considerando que o Poder Normativo Europeu (PNE) é o elo entre a segurança ontológica da UE e sua política externa, ele não pode ser pensado independentemente do Outro. A tese oferece uma teorização dos mecanismos de difusão e posterior operacionalização de uma perspectiva dialógica que endogeneiza o Outro desde o início. Recepção de normas é, portanto, parte integrante da análise de difusão. Posteriormente, a tese recria diferentes processos de difusão a partir do PNE como política externa para observar o argumento condutor de que, quando os Outros são integralizados à análise, dois dilemas do PNE despontam, um político e outro, mais profundo, ontológico. Um primeiro dilema é político: se o PNE enfrenta resistência, ou ele a anula, minando assim seu status de um tipo distinto de política externa; ou não, e então não alcança seu objetivo de difusão de normas. Mas um dilema mais profundo está ligado ao fato de que o PNE não é apenas uma política externa: é também um componente central do projeto de identidade da UE. Mesmo se as normas forem difundidas e as políticas convergirem, o PNE pode não ser reconhecido como a identidade superior na qual a ordem internacional deve se espelhar. Dito isto, se a UE tomar conhecimento do seu não reconhecimento, ela é posta diante de ver isto como uma aberração que será remediada ao longo do tempo, ou como uma potencial ameaça à sua segurança ontológica. Ela, portanto, paralisa e não consegue alterar sua abordagem. Como resultado, o PNE como política externa pode, mesmo que seja bem-sucedido, prejudicar seu projeto de identidade; e o PNE como projeto de identidade pode minar sua política externa exatamente quando sua tendência a ver-se confirmado ao encontrar o Outro prejudica seu reconhecimento externo. Empiricamente, o dilema ontológico é observado em um caso de cooperação para o desenvolvimento, o Programa entre a UE e a Comunidade de Estados Latino-Americanos e Caribenhos (CELAC) sobre Políticas de Drogas (COPOLAD), iniciado em 2011 e renovado em 2016. O dilema político, por sua vez, é observado em um caso de resistência, a busca pelo acesso global a medicamentos que provocou intensa polarização e divergências entre a UE e o Brasil no âmbito multilateral em 2008-2009, com desenvolvimentos até 2016. A tese constrói uma teoria e desenvolve hipóteses conectadas aos dilemas do PNE, integrando seriamente o Outro em uma abordagem dialógica aos dois casos paradigmáticos. A abordagem explora a presença de diferenças, contestação e assimetrias de poder em trajetos processuais que resultam em um dos dois dilemas. A maioria dos estudos que abordam o exercício do poder normativo da UE como política externa lidam com casos de Europeização entre os Estados membros da UE, candidatos e países vizinhos. Esse cenário pode conduzir a um problema tanto para a estabilização da identidade política da UE quanto para o sucesso de sua política externa, uma vez que países distantes das suas fronteiras provavelmente desafiam o discurso de excepcionalidade e caráter distinto da UE. Estudos Europeus e a própria UE, por sua vez, não lançaram luz sobre esse problema até meados dos anos 2000. Em contrapartida, esta tese contribui para a agenda de pesquisa sobre difusão de normas e governança externa da UE em duas frentes principais: 1) oferecendo um quadro teórico para analisar o PNE como política externa, proponho que nosso entendimento é atualmente insuficiente para compreender dilemas que têm a ver com a forma como o PNE deve funcionar; 2) operacionaliza uma abordagem dialógica dos estudos de caso que revelam a política de recepção de normas, considerando os Outros como parte / [en] The present work looks across European Union s inside/outside by asking what power is there in a normative power narrative? And what does this narrative do to the EU? These questions are investigated by moving the focus of analysis to see to what extent and in which ways relationships set up with Others beyond Europe affect the EU political identity. Considering that NPE is the link between the EU s ontological security and its foreign policy, it cannot be thought independently of the Other. At first, the thesis offers a theorization of mechanisms of diffusion and subsequently operationalization in a dialogic perspective that endogeneize the Other from the onset. Norm reception is thus integral part of the diffusion analysis. At second, it recreates different processes of diffusion starting from NPE as foreign policy to observe the driving argument that, when the Others are endogeneized, two dilemmas of NPE arise, one political and another, more profound one, ontological. A first dilemma is political: If NPE faces resistance, it either overrules it thereby undermining its status of a different type of foreign policy; or it does not, and then does not succeed in its aim of norm diffusion. But a more profound dilemma is connected to the fact that NPE is not just a foreign policy: it is also a central component of the EU s identity project. Even if norms are diffused and policies converge, NPE may not be recognized as the superior identity to which the international order should strive. This said, if the EU becomes aware of its non-recognition, it is put before either seeing this as an aberration that will be remedied over time, or as a potential threat to its ontological security. It is hence stuck and cannot change its approach. As a result, NPE as a foreign policy can, even if successful, undermine its identity project; and NPE as identity politics can undermine its foreign policy exactly when its tendency to see itself confirmed when meeting the Other undermines its external recognition. Empirically, the ontological dilemma is observed in a case of development cooperation, the Programme between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (CELAC) on Drugs Policies (COPOLAD), which began in 2011 and was renewed in 2016. And the political dilemma is observed in a case of resistance, the quest of global access to medicines that provoked intense polarization and divergences between the EU and Brazil at the multilateral level in 2008-2009, with further developments until 2016. The thesis builds a theory and develops hypotheses connected to the NPE dilemma, seriously integrating the Other in a dialogic approach to the two paradigmatic cases. The approach explores the role of difference, contestation and power asymmetries in processual paths that end up in either of the two dilemma. Most studies that address the exercising of NPE as foreign policy tackle cases of Europeanization among EU Member States, candidates and neighboring countries. This scenario may lead to a consequent problem for both the stabilization of the EU political identity and success of foreign policy, since countries far from its borders are likely to challenge EU s discourse of exceptionalism and distinctiveness. European Studies and the EU itself did not shed light on this problem until mid-2000s. By contrast, this thesis contributes to the research agenda of norms diffusion and EU external governance on two main fronts: 1) offering a theoretical framework to analyze NPE as foreign policy, I propose that our understanding is currently insufficient to grasp dilemmas that have to do with how NPE should work; 2) it operationalizes a dialogic approach to the case studies that reveal the politics of norm reception, considering the Others as part of a fruitful communication with the EU, and not as passive receivers of NPE. Politically, it is relevant for the EU to make the NPE as a strategy coincide with its discourse on norms and principles, reducing the creation of stereotypes like double standards. In addition, to embody the Others in