This book examines the ability of the EU and European actor networks to coherently and effectively navigate, manage and influence debates and policy on the international stage. It also questions whether increasing complexity across a range of critical global issues and networks has affected this ability.

Introduction: Networks, complexity, and the global order PART 1: Conceptualising Networks in the Face of Complexity 1. Networks, transnational networks, and global order 2. World politics as a complex system: Analyzing governance complexity with network approaches 3. Controlling governance issues in professional-organizational networks PART 2: Case Studies in Global Networks and European Actors 4. Ruling in a complex world: Private regulatory networks and the export of European data protection rules 5. Navigating an emerging knowledge structure: Where does the EU stand on sustainable finance? 6. The rise of the EU in international tax policy 7. Transnational networks of the sovereign debt restructuring regime 8. Environmental governance networks: Climate change and biodiversity 9. Global complexity, civil society, and networks 10. Multi-level diplomacy in Europe in the digital century: The case of science diplomacy 11. European Union networking against transnational crime 12. Conclusions: Global Complexity, Networks, and the Role of EU and European Actors

"This book widens the horizon of international studies by highlighting the rise of networks. This is particularly interesting since in recent years we spoke more about global disorder, witnessing attacks on multilateral organisations and declining resilience to financial crises, but also health emergencies. Reaching out to taxation, science diplomacy as well as anti-crime cooperation, this volume highlights a new dimension, with particular attention to the role and potential of European actors."László Andor, Secretary General of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies.