As Open as Possible, as Autonomous as Necessary: Understanding the Rise of Open Strategic Autonomy in EU Trade Policy

Schmitz, Luuk; Seidl, Timo

doi:10.1111/jcms.13428

Cited by 37 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 36 publications

(142 reference statements)

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“…Schaus, 2022). Our research also complements work on hegemonic narratives (Schmitz & Seidl, 2022, find that neoliberalism no longer dominates trade policy), while challenging scholarship arguing the continued dominance of neoliberalism (e.g. Jacobs et al, 2022; Orbie & De Ville, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…In the academic literature, Jacobs et al (2022) argue that neoliberalism, little altered, continues to dominate EU trade policy; Schmitz and Seidl (2022) find (largely) the opposite. Thus, we ask, is the OSA really new?…”

Section: S P E C I a L I S S U E A R T I C L Ementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Trade Commissioner Dombrovski asserted that the OSA was the first time the Commission was ‘explicitly putting sustainability at the heart of trade policy’ (European Commission, 2021b), yet sustainability was central to both Pascal Lamy's and Cecilia Malmström's tenures as Trade Commissioner. In the academic literature, Jacobs et al (2022) argue that neoliberalism, little altered, continues to dominate EU trade policy; Schmitz and Seidl (2022) find (largely) the opposite. Thus, we ask, is the OSA really new?…”

Section: Contextualising the Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trade strategy represents a stance adopted by the Commission—with the support of the Council—that establishes priorities, sets goals and guides policy, including the construction and use of instruments (cf. Garcia‐Barcero, 2022; Schmitz & Seidl, 2022). We start our analysis in 1999 because then Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy introduced a trade doctrine outlining how globalisation would be managed; this doctrine was a de facto trade strategy.…”

Section: Policy Paradigmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New is old? TheEU's Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy

Eliasson

García-Durán

2023

Global Policy

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The European Commission presented its Open, Sustainable and Assertive (OSA) trade strategy in early 2021, heralding the document as representing a new and strategic approach to countering dependency and strengthening resiliency. We analyse the OSA through policy paradigms, making two contributions to the trade policy literature. First, we show that embedded liberalism and fair trade—often presented as two trade paradigms —are rather elements of one, namely managed globalisation (MG). Using qualitative and quantitative content analyses, we argue that MG has been more influential in shaping 21st‐century trade policy than heretofore recognised in the literature. Second, we show that the OSA represents a paradigmatic rebalancing and complementarity, between the MG and a realist trade‐as‐foreign‐policy paradigm. The OSA represents an EU seeking to increase its capabilities in order to defend its values and interests, while simultaneously promoting the return to a rules‐based liberal international trading order; the co‐dominance of MG and trade‐as‐foreign‐policy represent an evolution from managing interdependence to managing dependency.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: S P E C I a L I S S U E A R T I C L Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Contextualising the Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Policy Paradigmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New is old? TheEU's Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy

Eliasson

García-Durán

2023

Global Policy

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“…To be sure, the controversies surrounding the French discourse have not disappeared. The appearance of terms such as 'open strategic autonomy' further indicate that actors opposed to the 'European sovereignty' discourse can find creative ways to subvert it (Schmitz and Seidl 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘A Sovereign Europe’? Strategic Use of Discourse at the Service of French Economic Interests in EU Politics (2017–2022)

Bora

2023

J of Common Market Studies

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The ‘practice turn’ in European Union (EU) studies has shown that everyday actions, notably discursive practices, are consequential for producing European integration. Yet, an important development has been overlooked by scholars: the emergence of a ‘European sovereignty’ discourse in EU politics. Since President Emmanuel Macron's Sorbonne speech in September 2017, the EU policy of the French government has been structured around the affirmed objective of building ‘European sovereignty’. It supposes that the EU should become more geopolitical and not shy away from defending its own interests in an increasingly disorderly and hostile world. This article enquires into the objectives that President Macron and the French government have sought to realise by introducing this discourse into EU politics. We argue that ‘European sovereignty’ is a discursive practice that instrumentalises security threats to the EU in order to legitimise France's economic policy objectives, most notably the reform of EU competition policy. Our findings derive not only from publicly available documents and speeches but also 72 semi‐directed interviews.

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