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The European Union in Times of Crisis: Internal Challenges and a Changing Global Order

Democracy
European Politics
European Union
Globalisation
Integration
Migration
Brexit
Eurozone
S63
Natasha Wunsch
Sciences Po Paris
Antoaneta Dimitrova
Departments of Political Science and Public Administration, Universiteit Leiden

Endorsed by the ECPR Standing Group on European Union


Abstract

Since 2009, the EU appears to be operating in a context of permanent crises. Internally, it is grappling with the crisis of the Eurozone and economic governance, the migration crisis, the negotiations surrounding Brexit, and a creeping but no less dangerous challenge to democracy as the core of the Union’s shared values. The manifestations of these crises have been so prolonged and recurring that they raise the question whether they represent systemic flaws that call into question the long-term prospects of European integration. This question has been posed with relation to European economic and eurozone governance, but is equally relevant when it comes to Eurosceptic trends among EU citizens and the rise of populist and nationalist governments that explicitly challenge core institutions and values of the Union. Brexit negotiations and the enduring difficulties in finding a workable form of future cooperation with the UK after the deadline for leaving the Union further illustrate how some of the core tenets of the EU’s order, including the free movement of people in the internal market, are coming under pressure. At the same time, the EU faces a multitude of external challenges. These range from the strained transatlantic relationship due to the increasingly isolationist stance of the United States, the rise of a stronger China, and an increasingly assertive Russia. The EU’s ability to bring positive change to its neighbourhood is challenged by the enduring instability and outright political crises in the countries of the Eastern Partnership and those that experienced the Arab Spring. These multiple crises challenge the EU’s emphasis on soft power as its privileged mode of engagement with third countries and risk fostering ever deeper Euroscepticism among the EU’s citizens.
Code Title Details
S062 Consequences of the Freedom of Movement in the European Union: New Perspectives and Prospects View Panel Details
S078 Democratic Backsliding in the EU: Causes and Impact View Panel Details
S109 EU and the Changing Global Order View Panel Details
S111 EU Foreign Policy and Autocratic States: Developing New Responses? View Panel Details
S131 From Accession Euphoria to Radical Backlash: An East-Central European Sonderweg? View Panel Details
S207 Multi-Level Governance in Europe: New Perspectives and Issues View Panel Details
S267 Political Responses to Migration in Europe: Solidarity in Crisis? View Panel Details
S281 Popular Support for the European Union View Panel Details
S322 Revisiting Implementation in the European Union: New Trends in Implementation and Enforcement View Panel Details
S363 The Causes and Impact of Brexit View Panel Details
S373 The EU’s Multiple Crises: Democracy, Borders, and Citizens View Panel Details
S421 Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives on the EU in Times of Crisis View Panel Details
S438 Understanding the Role of Officials and Experts in EU Institutions View Panel Details