The EU as a Global Player in a Sovereigntist World

The resurgence of sovereigntist politics, geopolitical rivalry, and challenges to liberal multilateralism is reshaping the international order. In this context, the European Union faces a crucial question: how can a polity founded on shared sovereignty and interdependence act effectively as a global player in an increasingly state-centered world? This panel explores how the EU adapts its external action, security policies, and normative ambitions to a context marked by nationalism, strategic competition, and growing fragmentation. It welcomes interdisciplinary contributions addressing themes such as strategic autonomy, border and migration politics, security and defense, geoeconomics, enlargement, and the EU’s role in the crisis of the liberal international order. The panel aims to foster discussion on the contradictions, challenges, and opportunities facing the EU in an increasingly sovereigntist global environment.