The European Union in a Changing World Order

The world is in a state of upheaval. In the last decade, much of public debate has been dedicated to global power shifts away from the United States and Europe and towards countries with strong economic growth or development potential, such as China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. 

In many respects, this notion has grown stronger in the wake of the financial and economic crisis 2008-2010, followed by the euro crisis in 2010, and relatively weak economic recovery in numerous parts of the western world. New security threats in the form of terrorism and acts of violence by non-state actors are shaking Europe and its neighbours, while instability, poor governance, and climate change have turned over 65 million people into refugees. Meanwhile, major technological shifts are ongoing in the form of digitization, robotization, and artificial intelligence that have already begun to upset traditional patterns of economic and social interaction.