Nadtochey Yury Ivanivich – Ph.D. in History, Senior Researcher, INION RAS
Changes in the direction and content of globalization that became evident at the turn of the 2010–2020s have raised questions about the European Union’s (EU) position and role in these processes as one of the key players in a polycentric world. The article seeks to analyze the EU’s position in international economic and political relations and evaluate the «starting point» from which the EU entered the era of globalization. The article portrays the EU as a unique (sui generis) security community that exports integration practices beyond its borders; special attention is paid to such specific instruments as «Europeanization» and «conditionality» as means of expanding the EU’s influence both within Europe and on a more global scale. The limited impact of the EU’s methods of exerting influence in its dealings with major powers (the US, China, Russia) and with a wide group of countries in the «Global South» is emphasized. A comparison of assessments of the potentials of the EU and other centers of power is made, leading to the conclusion that the EU’s capabilities as an international actor are waning. In this context, the reasons for the EU’s retreat from more altruistic approaches to global governance based on «good governance» principles and the prerequisites for introducing more unilateral and more Eurocentric measures in the EU’s relations with the outside world are analyzed. The article postulates the thesis that the EU is increasingly focusing on the concept of «strategic autonomy» in response to the challenges of globalization, the diminishing importance of purely market-driven factors, and the growing influence of geopolitical and security concerns.
globalization, deglobalization, integration, European Union (EU), multilateralism, Europeanization, international organizations, strategic autonomy, Global South.
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