Global Policy

vLex
Publisher:
Wiley
Publication date:
2022-02-22
ISBN:
1758-5899

Description:

Global Policy is an innovative and interdisciplinary journal that will bring together world class academics and leading practitioners to analyse both public and private solutions to global problems and issues. Its focus is on understanding globally relevant risks and collective action problems; policy challenges that have global impact; and competing and converging discourses about global risks and policy responses. It will also include case studies of policy with clear lessons for other countries and regions; how policy responses, politics and institutions interrelate at the global level; and the conceptual, theoretical and methodological innovations needed to explain and develop policy in these areas.

Issue Number

Latest documents

  • Issue Information
  • The European Union in its pursuit of being a global leader in climate neutrality

    This contribution examines the most important actions taken by the European Union (EU) to improve the global climate. Positioning itself as a leader in climate action, the EU has adopted the European Green Deal (EGD) strategy, in which it has defined the long‐term goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Moreover, one of the aims of EU climate leadership is to influence external partners, which takes various forms (e.g., participation in conferences under the auspices of the United Nations, financial support for partner countries, and political dialog). However, the soft power instruments used by the EU to combat climate change are encountering a number of challenges conditioned by events both within the EU (e.g., farmers' protests) and outside its borders (e.g., Russian aggression against Ukraine). They require greater coordination and preventive efforts to reduce the impact of potential new crises and to strengthen the EU's strategic autonomy.

  • EU water diplomacy: A tool to strengthen the EU's soft power on environmental governance

    This article analyses the role of the European Union (EU) as a global governance actor in a multipolar and fragmented world. It focuses on the case of European Union water diplomacy, defined as the diplomatic and strategic use of water cooperation to promote peace, security, and sustainable development. The article argues that European Union water diplomacy is a tool to enhance the EU's soft power and influence in global environmental governance. Through an analysis of the European Union's main initiatives in this field, the article illustrates how the EU seeks to build alliances with other actors, promote multilateralism and the principles of international law, and support the participation of civil society and local communities. It concludes that European Union water diplomacy is an example of EU normative and transformative leadership that can contribute to the consolidation of a more just and sustainable international order.

  • The changing post‐Brexit UK‐EU relationship and rules‐based global governance

    In 2023, relations between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) began taking on a more reasoned approach. The Windsor Framework, agreed in February between the Sunak government and the EU, resolved most of the tensions about trade with Northern Ireland. 2023 also witnessed a more pragmatic approach to dealing with several issues harming (British) business and unnecessarily grating post‐Brexit relations with the EU. Furthermore, the UK has shown quite staunch support for Ukraine, and Britain's geopolitical interests today are broadly similar to the EU's in a world in which the rules‐based international order underpinning global governance is greatly weakened. The nature of Brexit, however, is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

  • UN Resolution 1325/2000 (women, peace and security): Its impact in Europe

    This article aims first, to decipher the content of UN Resolution 1325 and the obligations it entails; second, to systematize actions carried out by the EU; and third, to propose some conclusions. Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) marked the beginning of political decisions taking into account the impact of conflict on women and girls. Member States have developed national action plans to integrate Resolution 1325 into their policies and programs and the EU has approved some plans and decisions but there is still a long way to go, especially to ensure impact and implementation.

  • Towards the autonomous defence capabilities of the European Union: Upgrading cyber defence policy

    Cyber attacks against the EU and its Member States have increased in recent times, which demonstrates the rapid blurring of the boundaries between the civilian and military components of cyberspace. Indeed, these events clearly highlight the critical interdependence between physical and digital infrastructures. While Member States have different and divergent perceptions of the prevailing threats, the EU, as guarantor of security, has been implementing strategies since the early 2000s to pursue a joint action aligned with the objective outlined in Article 24 of the TEU, namely, a common European defence also in cyberspace. This paper will thoroughly analyse the latest European initiative on cyber defence policy, adopted in November 2022, to highlight new aspects and previous elements trying to answer whether we are making any real progress in this area.

  • The EU's efforts to uphold the international rules‐based order: Mission impossible?

    It is commonplace today to state that the international rules‐based order is in decline, or at least severely under threat. The European Union has been a steadfast self‐proclaimed defender of such order, with a strong commitment to multilateralism, the United Nations, and international law based on its founding treaties. This contribution asks how deep and consistent the EU's choice for multilateralism is and how the Union is coping with the challenges to the international rules‐based order. It briefly inquires through what instruments, mechanisms, and tools the EU aims to live up to its commitment to multilateralism and to what extent the Union itself consistently respects international law. It ends with the question of how the EU can reinforce its multilateral commitment to the international rules‐based order, in particular through the UN.

  • Interparliamentary cooperation in the EU in the face of the war in Ukraine

    The study explains how interparliamentary cooperation (IPC) contributed to maintaining unity in the European Union's (EU) response to the Russian–Ukrainian war. A theoretical framework is derived from the concepts of Crum's and Fossum's multilevel parliamentary field and Christopher Lord's theory on the role of parliamentary cooperation in the external relations of the EU. The empirical material for the qualitative and quantitative content analysis covers 25 IPC documents adopted between March 2022 and September 2023. Findings indicate that national parliaments have actively used IPC forums in the EU to address the war in Ukraine, emphasizing EU unity and collective actions over national concerns. Maintaining unity in the EU is highlighted as essential for managing and implementing decisions, especially given the likelihood of the Ukraine conflict becoming a prolonged crisis.

  • Governance and policy implications of the Inflation Reduction Act: A European perspective

    This paper examines the US 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) alongside the EU's Net‐Zero Industry Act (NZIA) and Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) of 2023. We analyze their differential approaches to accelerating investment in clean technology, enhancing energy security and fortifying supply chains. Both regions share the objective of diminishing reliance on Chinese dominance in clean industries. The US seeks to stimulate private investment primarily via uncapped tax credits from 2022 to 2031, some of them subject to stringent domestic content requirements. The EU has reacted to the potential violation of World Trade Organization's rules and a possible green investment shift to the US In doing so, the EU is relying heavily on a regulatory strategy, with emphasis on the simplification of procedures. However, the EU's public funding model is vague and leaves details to the discretion of member states, risking fragmentation within the single market. Through the application of a dynamic computable general equilibrium model, we show that a 50% increase in demand for the IRA's uncapped tax credits could nearly triple US GDP outcomes by 2027. We highlight the contrast between the IRA's immediate fiscal incentives and the NZIA's regulatory approach, emphasising that the former are more attractive for firms.

  • The European Union and China's geoeconomic tools in a multipolar world

    This paper analyzes what the geoeconomic tools of the European Union (EU) and China are and examines their nature from a comparative perspective. To this end, a literature review is conducted, accounting for the tools known as geoeconomic, and this is complemented by a content analysis of official documents, which include lesser‐known geoeconomic tools. The results indicate that although a similar number of geoeconomic tools have been identified, their salience and nature vary. While the EU's usage of these tools has lately been reactive to external developments and is not very often researched by academics, the Chinese usage takes a proactive stance. The paper concludes by pointing out that the development and relevance of these tools mirrors the systemic rivalry between the EU and China and indicates the geoeconomic shift that is taking place in international relations. Similarly, it also shows that the literature does not address all the geoeconomic tools there are and therefore this paper contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive list of the instruments mentioned.

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