Abstract
AbstractThe global context within which European integration takes place is changing. The rise of China continues and the leadership of the USA has come under strain, while the global economy remains trapped in a phase of stagnation. We argue that, to capture these dynamics, EU studies would benefit from tracing the interactions between global order and contemporary dynamics within the EU. European integration has been decisively shaped by two phases of US‐led global order in the past. However, we argue that a new global disorder has emerged. The decentring of globalization, geopolitical turbulence, monetary and financial instabilities and ideological fluidity are reshaping the context within which EU integration unfolds. This presents an old European question but under a new set of volatile conditions: how to secure a degree of relative autonomy within a rapidly changing global political economy.
Highlights
Europe confronts a world that is undergoing a series of far-reaching changes (Schwarzer, 2017; Laffan, 2018)
China continues its rise as a key centre of economic and geopolitical power and the global leadership role of the USA has come under question, while the global economy is experiencing a protracted phase of economic volatility and low growth (Kirshner, 2014; Streeck, 2016)
We seek to contribute to EU studies as a whole by showing how a series of post-crisis global reconfigurations across the economic, geopolitical, 1We recognize that the global processes that we examine impact unevenly on member states and that divergent national interests play a key role in shaping European integration (Bulmer and Joseph, 2016; Moravscik, 1998)
Summary
Europe confronts a world that is undergoing a series of far-reaching changes (Schwarzer, 2017; Laffan, 2018). Across the four shifts taking place in the post-crash world, the previous strategy of pursuing alignment with US power is likely to undermine rather than support the future autonomy of the EU. This raises the question of whether European institutions should aim to pursue an alternative strategy of autonomy through dealignment from prevailing patterns of US power. The fourth section argues that the previous European strategy of securing autonomy through alignment under these conditions looks increasingly untenable, which raises a number of key strategic questions for EU policy-makers and European integration theory
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