European integration and the new global disorder*

Lavery, S. and Schmid, D. (2021) European integration and the new global disorder*. Journal of Common Market Studies, 59(5), pp. 1322-1338. (doi: 10.1111/jcms.13184)

Abstract

The global context within which European integration takes place is changing. The rise of China continues and the leadership of the USA has come under strain, while the global economy remains trapped in a phase of stagnation. We argue that, to capture these dynamics, EU studies would benefit from tracing the interactions between global order and contemporary dynamics within the EU. European integration has been decisively shaped by two phases of US-led global order in the past. However, we argue that a new global disorder has emerged. The decentring of globalization, geopolitical turbulence, monetary and financial instabilities and ideological fluidity are reshaping the context within which EU integration unfolds. This presents an old European question but under a new set of volatile conditions: how to secure a degree of relative autonomy within a rapidly changing global political economy.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: *We presented earlier versions of this paper at the Future Economies / Political Studies Association (PSA) workshop at MMU, the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) 2020 Annual Conference, the British and Comparative Political Economy Specialist Group workshop (PSA) and at the Department of Politics and International Relations seminar at the University of Sheffield. We thank participants in these events for their thoughtful reflections on our work. Thanks to Colin Hay, Jeremy Green, Milan Babic, Owen Parker and Simon Bulmer in particular for reading and commenting on earlier drafts. We would like to extend a special thanks to three anonymous reviewers who provided perceptive and very helpful comments. Scott Lavery thanks The Leverhulme Trust for the Early Career Fellowship under which this research was conducted (ECF-2017-281).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lavery, Dr Scott
• Authors: Lavery, S., and Schmid, D.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Economic and Social History
• Journal Name: Journal of Common Market Studies
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 0021-9886
• ISSN (Online): 1468-5965
• Published Online: 12 February 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Common Market Studies 59(5):1322-1338
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license