A global actor past its peak?

Published date01 September 2013
Date01 September 2013
DOI10.1177/0047117813497299
Subject MatterArticles
International Relations
27(3) 375 –390
© The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/0047117813497299
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A global actor past its peak?
Charlotte Bretherton
Portsmouth University
John Vogler
Keele University
Abstract
Examining a range of policy areas in which the European Union (EU) acts externally – notably
trade, development, climate change and foreign and security policy – this article considers the
notion that the years since the mid-2000s have witnessed a decline in EU actorness/effectiveness.
In evaluating EU performance, the article employs the interrelated concepts of presence, denoting
EU status and influence; opportunity, denoting the external context of EU action; and capability,
referring to EU policy processes and instruments, with particular reference to the impact of the
2009 Lisbon Treaty. It is contended that achievement of the increased capability envisaged by the
Lisbon Treaty, together with resolution of the Eurozone crisis, with its deleterious effect upon
the Union’s presence, would not fully compensate for the loss of opportunity provided by the
changing international structure.
Keywords
capability, opportunity, policy formulation, policy instruments, presence
Introduction
Europe not only offers another interpretation of how international affairs might be managed, and
of how threats to the international community might be defined and resolved, it also poses limits
to the ability of the United States to mould that community to its priorities and principles. The
European Union is a superpower, and the new pole in a post-modern bipolar international order.1
Written in the mid-2000s, McCormick’s words reflect debate, at that time, about the
growing significance of the European Union (EU) as a global actor and its potential to
Corresponding author:
John Vogler, SPIRE, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG.
Email: j.vogler@keele.ac.uk
497299IRE27310.1177/0047117813497299International RelationsBretherton and Vogler
2013
Article
376 International Relations 27(3)
rival the power and influence of the United States. In the context of the post-Cold War
period, increased institutionalisation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)
following its introduction in 1993, together with the first operations (in 2003) of the
European Security and Defence Policy (now Common Security and Defence Policy
(CSDP)), complemented the Union’s established and considerable strength in external
economic relations. The EU was thus able to avail itself of the full range of foreign pol-
icy instruments, while the European Security Strategy, published in 2003, promised to
give strategic direction to EU external action. In the economic sphere, successful intro-
duction of the euro in 2002, followed by its increasing value relative to the US dollar,
generated speculation that the euro would rival or even overtake the dollar as a global
currency.2 In the area of climate diplomacy, the Union had already assumed the role of
global leader, and its influence was decisive in achieving ratification of the Kyoto
Protocol in 2004. Finally, the conclusion of a protracted and often difficult enlargement
process, to admit 12 new Member States in 2004 and 2007, increased the size and eco-
nomic weight of the Union and greatly enhanced its reputation as an effective actor in
international affairs.
With its explicit aim that the EU should ‘establish its identity on the international
scene’ (Article 2), entry into force of the Treaty on European Union in 1993 occurred
during a period that was particularly conducive to an enhanced global role for the EU. In
consequence, the following decade witnessed a significant increase in EU actorness and
effectiveness that, we contend, reached its zenith in the mid-2000s. Thus, by 2007–2008,
reflection upon the changing situation of the European actor, and the possibility of evalu-
ating actorness in decline, had begun.3 Further developments, both positive and negative,
have encouraged us to revisit these debates. First, after many setbacks, the Treaty of
Lisbon, with its explicit aim of enhancing the Union’s capability as a global actor, entered
into force in December 2009. Second, the prolonged financial crisis affecting the
Eurozone, which has focused attention upon the internal problems of Member States and
threatened the cohesion, even the continuing existence, of the Union itself. It is in this
context of ‘EU external policy at a crossroads’ that we seek to revisit the fundamental
bases of EU actorness and effectiveness, employing the essentially interrelated concepts
of presence, denoting the international reputation of the EU and associated third-party
expectations of EU action; opportunity, denoting the external environment or context
that enables or constrains EU action; and capability, denoting internal factors affecting
the EU’s ability to capitalise on presence and respond to opportunity.4 Use of these over-
lapping dimensions of actorness enables us to consider not only the internal complexities
of EU policy-making, with their attendant implications for goal attainment, but also the
constraining/enabling factors associated with external perceptions and expectations of
the EU, and with changes in the international system itself. This emphasis upon external
perceptions, ideas and events facilitates a comprehensive assessment of actorness and
effectiveness that focuses upon the relations aspect of external relations.
Presence
Presence conceptualises the ability of an actor, by virtue of its existence, to exert influence
beyond its borders.5 An indication of structural power, presence combines understandings

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