EU–Asia Security Relations in a Global Context: Geoeconomics and Geopolitics

Abstract

It is not only the possible relative decline of the United States as the bedrock of the so-called ‘rules-based international order’ (RBIO) in the Trump era that has caused consternation in Europe and Asia. The international system has also been shaken by a number of rising powers that are often less wedded to the norms and principles of the old RBIO. Changes in the underlying structures of the international order, as well as the ideas and practices that were associated with American dominance, present a major challenge for policymakers everywhere. This chapter compares the responses in Europe and East Asia to similar challenges because they highlight the different historical circumstances and capacities that will shape policies of adjustment in both regions. Geopolitical and newly important geoeconomic forces are both constraining and empowering different actors in a period of dramatic transformation.