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The European Union and Strategic Competition

Publication Type:

Journal article preview

Source:

Connections: The Quarterly Journal, Volume 23, Issue 2 (2024)

Keywords:

EU, European Union, multilateral engagement, strategic autonomy, strategic competition, strategic interdependence

Abstract:

The European Union perceives the world as multipolar, with countries of the Global South expanding their political and economic influence alongside the rivalry between the United States and China. Cooperation, compromise, and multilateral engagement are central to the EU's mode of operation, and the European Union and its member states favor this approach in shaping international relations. However, in a security environment characterized by strategic competition, the European Union, as the world's largest trading bloc, must assert its role. "Strategic interdependence" appears to be the EU's response to addressing the complexities of a changing world.