<i>‘The “liberal international order” that the United States and Europe dominated not so long ago is now seriously contested through a combination of the rise of rival authoritarian powers and the ascent of nativist/populist leaders. This thoughtful and compelling volume addresses the strategic responses across policy fields that a constrained Europe is pursuing in this changing global order.’</i>
- Gregory Shaffer, Georgetown University Law Center, US,
<i>‘This new and important book offers a comprehensive account of the various forces that are currently at play around the globe and those that have shaped the past century, having produced the international liberal order that is faced with a myriad of pressures. Drawing on a wide range of authors, representing different backgrounds and disciplines, this book offers new insights into the challenges that we are facing today. Focusing in particular on European responses to these pressures in the global economic political order, the authors in this volume provide the reader with in-depth analyses and point to a variety of paths that lie ahead.’</i>
- Amy Verdun, University of Victoria, Canada and Leiden University, the Netherlands,
<i>‘This book delivers a much needed and thorough analysis of the European Union in the global order. The contributors explore crucial challenges and contestation - both internal and external - facing the EU across an impressive variety of policy areas and geographical regions. These timely analyses provide essential insights and lessons for scholars and policymakers interested in a Europe that finds itself at a crossroads and needing to adapt to significant changes in the global landscape.’</i>
- Chad Damro, University of Edinburgh, UK,
Leading scholars examine how, with a greater dispersion of power and heterogeneity of preferences, Europe navigates a system characterized by a growing deadlock in major international institutions and a lack of compliance with international rules on global governance. Chapters analyse the challenges within international organizations and the international order itself, where the global balance of power is shifting towards a multipolar system. Challenges explored include populist-nationalist movements; rising geopolitical tensions; and growing inequality, political polarization and diminishing trust in political institutions. With the pull of global competition and rising power politics, the book identifies the limits to multilateral cooperation and the shortfalls of the traditional state-based liberal order in addressing global problems, finding a need for more diversity in governance structures to deal with increased connectivity and interdependence.
Multi-disciplinary in scope, this forward-thinking book will prove vital to students and scholars of international relations, politics, and law, particularly those interested in the contestation and polarization in global governance, European responses to these challenges, and the transformation of the international liberal order.