[New publication] Europe’s geopolitical shift: The EU’s role in a reordering world

In the new book “A Geopolitical Europe in the Making? The EU’s Actorness in a (De-)Globalising World”, the editors assess the European Union’s strategic goals based on its performance in world politics. They conclude the EU has made significant strides in projecting geopolitical influence - particularly through its regulatory authority in trade and climate policy - but caution that structural limits and a lack of full member state cooperation could weaken its ability to act decisively during global crises.

A new edited volume titled “A Geopolitical Europe in the Making? The EU’s Actorness in a (De-)Globalising World” (T.M.C. Asser Press/Springer) investigates whether the European Union (EU) has succeeded in becoming the geopolitical actor it claims to be. Edited by Marek Neuman, Ramses A. Wessel and Thijs de Zee, the book draws on leading voices in law, political science and European studies to assess the EU’s external action across regions and policy domains. Combining case studies and policy analyses, the book highlights where the EU has shaped outcomes and where it has struggled to move beyond rhetoric.  

The first part of the book explores the EU’s place in global politics in terms of relationships with great powers and international institutions. Chapters discuss the EU’s sanctions on Russia, its uncertain relationship with China, and its place in transatlantic relations with the United States. Other contributions consider the EU’s interactions with the United Nations and other regional institutions such as the World Bank, examining whether inter-cooperation reinforces its assertions to geopolitical significance.

Policy emphasis
In the second part of the publication, the attention moves to policy areas where the Union’s ability to act can be tested in the real world. The chapters discuss how the EU has attempted to influence trade and economic governance, where concerns about supply chain resilience and market access are key; climate and environmental policy, where it sees itself as a global leader in green regulation; and digital governance, where concerns about platform accountability, data protection and artificial intelligence (AI) show both its goals and its limits.

Additional contributions evaluate the EU’s security and defence programmes. For example, the European Defence Fund (EDF) supports AI-driven defence projects that include autonomous drones and decision-making systems, to strengthen EU military capabilities. The studies also assesses the EU’s approach to border and migration management. These empirical studies offer a detailed, evidence-based assessment of the EU’s capacity to function as a global entity in addressing some of the most urgent policy concerns of our era.

New perspectives
By combining legal, political and institutional insights, the book enables readers to understand how many facets of EU action interact. The editors conclude that the Union has made major strides in projecting influence, such as through regulatory authority in trade and climate policy, but structural limits remain. Specifically, the EU’s ability to take decisive action during times of global crisis may be weakened if member states do not fully cooperate. The book, which delivers the first wide-ranging empirical study of the EU’s global actorness, offers an insightful perspective on how the EU’s legitimacy as a geopolitical actor is established and changed by situating these observations within broader discussions of international order and global governance.

About the editors 

• Marek Neuman is the Jean Monnet chair of European politics and governance and an assistant professor of EU foreign policy at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. 

• Ramses A. Wessel is a professor of European Law at the faculty of law of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. 

• Thijs de Zee is a PhD candidate at the faculty Campus Fryslân of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. 

Published by T.M.C. Asser Press in association with Springer, this book is the fifth volume in the Global Europe: Legal and Policy Issues of the EU’s External Action book series.  
Chapter 3 of this book is available open access here.

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