Global European Union Studies: sometimes normal is a little weird

Abstract

What is ‘European Union Studies’? Answers to this question shape scholarly and public thinking about the European Union, and its member states and citizens. The articles in this special issue, devoted to the best papers presented at the 2017 European Union Studies Association biennial conference in Miami, sketch a perspective, which I call Global European Union Studies. This approach recognizes that European integration is embedded within a larger global story. It suggests that the European project sits in dialogue with events happening in other countries and internationally, affecting and being affected by them. It resituates the European experience as part and parcel of broader transformations taking place across the world. In terms of payoff, European Union Studies can transform its own understanding of the European Union, make connections to those studying other world regions as well as international phenomenon, and focus attention on pressing real-world problems.