Enhancing Europe’s Global Power: A Scenario Exercise with Eight Proposals

Abstract

In the present context of intensifying competition between the major trading economies and potentially game‐changing technological developments, the European Union is generally seen as the weaker party. Lacking the ‘hard power’ derived from military capabilities, it has laid claim to a ‘soft power’ of normative influence externally, yet even that is only partially utilised. Nor has Europe been able to exercise the power to coerce – ‘sharp power’ – commensurate with its economic weight as a trading bloc equivalent in size and reach to the US or China, its most prominent global competitors. How can Europe strengthen its position, and in what fields? Through a scenario exercise, we develop eight policy proposals aimed at countering Europe´s vulnerabilities and enabling it to assert its sharp and soft power more effectively. Specifically, we consider the feasibility, means and scope for their realisation. Together, they provide a transformative agenda for the EU’s position in the world.

Gaining soft power by fostering science, technology,and innovation: dilemmas in international relations

“…2 Adding another layer to the debate, Lynskey 19 brings the idea that big technologies companies are also a source of Soft Power of nations, as they influence public discourse and political discussions through the Power to form public opinion, market power, and finally, data power, derived from the control of data flows. This influence of technology and innovation in Soft Power is also explored by Abels et al 20 In discussing how to increase Europe's Soft Power, the authors propose eight measures, including promoting new technologies through targeted investment and "smart" clustering. This means fostering competitive technology companies, with high market potential, through a collective strategy that can guarantee sufficient scale and scope.…”

The European Union’s Soft Economic Power Assessment: A Comparative Analysis

“…Julius (2005) defined soft power as an ability of a state to attract others because of attractiveness of its policy and values. Abels et al (2020) define soft power as "the ability to project values and norms on to the global stage, without relying on force or coercion. "…”

“…Bhardawaj (2019), in turn, claims that Brexit with its serious geopolitical ramifications has affected the EU's soft power and attractiveness. Abels et al (2020) note that despite the overall championship of Europe in soft power the bloc faces several challenges: managing migration, strong competition in technological advances with the US and China, the lingering economic problems in the eurozone etc. Abels et al ( 2020) also suggest several measures, which include developing a "digital silk road" by setting standards and estab-lishing the "gigabit society" in order to contain Chinese influence; extending the Erasmus+ program to improve human capital and increase cultural, teaching and research influence, and other schemes.…”

Enhancing Europe’s Power: A Rejoinder

“…The eight comments on our contribution ‘Enhancing Europe’s Global Power: A Scenario Exercise with Eight Proposals’ (see previous issue of Global Policy) (Abels et al, 2020 – hereafter, ‘the Report’) provide a wealth of insights and constructive elaborations of the themes covered, as well as critiques of our piece. We are grateful to the authors for their thought‐provoking contributions.…”