EU Enlargement and External Relations in Times of Geopolitical Transformation

Abstract

The European Union (EU) stands at a pivotal juncture of geopolitical redefinition. With Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, rising tensions in the Caucasus and Baltic Sea regions, and an escalating global strategic rivalry, the EU's external landscape has been profoundly transformed. In light of these challenges, the EU is reevaluating its enlargement and neighbourhood policies to incorporate not only economic and governance criteria, but also critical imperatives of security, resilience, strategic autonomy, and global leadership. This section aims to dissect the EU's evolving role as a significant geopolitical and normative actor within a rapidly changing world order. It invites in-depth analyses that critically examine how the EU's enlargement and neighbourhood policies are adapting to this new landscape, the capacity for coherence among its institutions and member states, and the diverse instruments employed to project stability and enhance influence. By fostering a dialogue that spans EU studies, international relations, international economics, comparative politics, and area studies, we encourage both theoretical and empirical contributions to the field. We will closely monitor the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine and shifting global alliances on the EU's external strategies and positioning. The Union's enlargement policy, once viewed as a technocratic process focused solely on rule adoption and conditionality, is now increasingly influenced by geopolitical realities, security concerns, and energy dependencies. Furthermore, the Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership are undergoing significant reassessment. They aim to strike a balance between supporting democratic resilience, addressing emerging hybrid threats, and pragmatically engaging with a diverse array of regional actors. This section will also delve into the complex internal-external nexus of the EU, examining how domestic political dynamics within member states and EU institutions shape the coherence of foreign policy and the credibility of the EU's ambitions on the global stage. This includes a robust discussion on differentiated integration, new membership models, and the implications of the EU's strategic leadership agenda for its partnerships with NATO, the United States, and various actors from the Global South.

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