EU Policy Responses to a Shifting Multilateral System

Abstract

Although the European Union (EU) undeniably plays a key role in international poli- tics, law and economics, it faces serious international and domestic challenges. The EU remains a key actor in the development of a number of international policies and as a promoter of effective multilateralism. It continues to ‘import’ and ‘export’ both policies and norms. The EU is also a key interlocutor for states and regional bodies throughout the world. It may even serve as a reference point for many regions, for pol- icy design or institutional development. However, changes in the international system and various international crises have an impact on the international role of the EU and its member states, testing the latters’ ability to act and adapt. Domestically, a persistent set of mutually reinforcing challenges, ranging from refugees to public debt to the rise of Euro-scepticism, have serious repercussions for the EU’s international role. Against this dynamic backdrop, this Book Series aims to be a central resource for the growing community of scholars and policy-makers who engage with the evolving interface between the EU and international affairs. The Series provides in-depth, cutting-edge and original contributions of world-class research on the EU in international affairs by high- lighting new developments, insights, challenges and opportunities. It encompasses analyses of the EU’s international role, as mediated by its own Member States, in international institutions and in its strategic bilateral and regional partnerships. Books in the series might examine evolving EU internal policies that have external implications and the ways in which these are both driven by, and feed back into, international developments. Grounded in Political Science, International Relations, International Political Economy, Law, Sociology and History, the Series refl ects a commitment to inter-disciplinary scholarship. We welcome book proposals relating to the changing role of the EU in international affairs across policies and the Union’s relations with different parts of the world, as well as relations with states and multilateral institutions. We are interested in research on values and norms, interests and global governance and welcome both theory-informed studies and studies comparing the EU with other major global actors. We encourage proposals from young and promising scholars, mid-career academics and established experts.