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<p>From the COVID pandemic to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Donald Trump’s questioning of NATO’s Article 5 and threat to take Greenland by force, the EU has been repeatedly confronted in recent years with unexpected developments abroad for which it was structurally unprepared. This is inevitable—given the world’s growing complexity, no imaginable investment in information gathering, common institutions and material resources would enable the EU to foresee and shield itself from all external developments. In recognition of this reality, this paper develops a theoretical framework based upon Peter Katzenstein and Lucia Seybert’s concept of ‘protean power’ for analyzing whether, how and under what conditions the EU is able to innovate and transform itself in the face of unforeseen developments in its external relations. It defines ‘protean power’ and compares it to more familiar forms of power focused on control. It situates this approach in relation to the assumptions and expectations of literatures on EU actorness, EU resilience, and EU crisis management. It then identifies a variety of factors that are likely to enable and limit the EU’s exercise of ‘protean power.’ Finally, it summarizes the themes and findings of the various empirical papers in this special issue.</p>

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The protean power of Europe: innovation and transformation in the face of radical uncertainty

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月1日

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  • Karolina Pomorska,
  • Daniel C. Thomas

摘要

From the COVID pandemic to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Donald Trump’s questioning of NATO’s Article 5 and threat to take Greenland by force, the EU has been repeatedly confronted in recent years with unexpected developments abroad for which it was structurally unprepared. This is inevitable—given the world’s growing complexity, no imaginable investment in information gathering, common institutions and material resources would enable the EU to foresee and shield itself from all external developments. In recognition of this reality, this paper develops a theoretical framework based upon Peter Katzenstein and Lucia Seybert’s concept of ‘protean power’ for analyzing whether, how and under what conditions the EU is able to innovate and transform itself in the face of unforeseen developments in its external relations. It defines ‘protean power’ and compares it to more familiar forms of power focused on control. It situates this approach in relation to the assumptions and expectations of literatures on EU actorness, EU resilience, and EU crisis management. It then identifies a variety of factors that are likely to enable and limit the EU’s exercise of ‘protean power.’ Finally, it summarizes the themes and findings of the various empirical papers in this special issue.