Europe's strategic Europe's : from crisis to coherence? / Sarah Raine

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Although it is the world's largest economic bloc and a trade superpower, the European Union has struggled to assert itself as a diplomatic and security actor. The rise of Asian powers and the possibility of weakened transatlantic ties threatens to push it towards the margins of geopolitics. Moreover, the EU has suffered a decade of crises, starting with the eurozone's debt troubles, then recession and austerity, the migration crisis and the United Kingdom's vote to leave the Union. It is arguable that Europe is running out of time to achieve strategic coherence, and some will contend that the prospects are gloomier than ever. Sarah Raine surveys the consequences of a decade of crises for the EU's strategic posture. She identifies areas of underappreciated success in the EU's external policy and argues that changes now in motion will facilitate greater effectiveness. Europe cannot become a superpower in the mould of the United States, and much will depend on Germany's political direction and the future relationship between the EU and the UK, but there is a realistic chance that Europe will buck years of underperformance to become a strategic actor of substance.