Lost at sea? The European Union’s influence over understandings of order in the Pacific Islands

Three outposts of the European Union are found in the Pacific Islands region, far from the European homeland – French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis & Futuna – all French territories. As the region has become a microcosm of broader strategic competition, in this article we examine the efforts of the EU, and certain of its members, to seek to influence how Pacific Island countries perceive them and their policies and understand international order. We ask: what has motivated the EU’s efforts? And what factors have impacted their effectiveness? We draw on the concepts of strategic narratives and international order, and the growing literature that considers the impact of the charge of hypocrisy that undermines claims that the liberal international order promoted by the EU delivers justice and that the EU is a ‘good global citizen’. We analyse the strategic narratives that the EU has deployed, discuss how Pacific Island countries have narrated, negotiated, and practiced order, and explore the grounds for the charge of hypocrisy against the EU. We conclude by considering how the EU could respond to narratives emanating from the Pacific Islands region that challenge its preferences and chart a shared course with Pacific Island countries.