Emerging Geopolitical Contests and Contestants in Europe

Abstract

The balance of power in and across continental Europe is changing dramatically as the shifting interests of the EU, the US, Russia and China conspire to redefine the structure of geopolitics on the continent. So, too, is European equilibrium increasingly influenced by social, political and economic turbulence in the adjacent regions of the Mediterranean Sea, the Arab Middle East and, only slightly further afield, the Persian Gulf and the Caucasus rimlands. These changes pose any number of policy challenges as well theoretical questions for students of geopolitics. Are we on the threshold of a bipolar-, tripolar-, or multi-polar “moment” in Europe? Who are the actors best positioned to lead in the rebalancing of power? What factors determine the hierarchy of influence and power on the continent? Where are the most likely and most readily identifiable trouble spots located? Lastly, which of these flashpoints has the greatest potential for tipping the delicately-poised scales between European peace and prosperity, on the one hand, and renewed instability and turmoil? In attempting to wrestle with these and related issues, the panel welcomes original research on any of the following core themes: • changing definitions of national power, • the best mix of hard, soft and smart power for dealing with diverse situations, • what distinguishes Great Powers from other actors, • the role of middle-range and smaller state actors (European and non-European), • mechanisms by which the balancing process not only unfolds but redirects itself. The Panel is sponsored by the International Political Science Association Research Committee on Geopolitics (IPSA RC 41), which welcomes contributions from historical and other perspectives and disciplines as well as specialists on European affairs.

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