The European Union as an inter- and transregional actor: lessons for global governance from Europe's relations with Asia

Abstract

Conclusion: The lessons to be learnt from Europe’s inter- and transregional cooperation with Asia may thus be summarized as follows: First, more than any other regional organization – perhaps with the exception of ASEAN – the EU has played an active role in establishing a novel level in international policy-making. Second, more than anything else, the EU’s involvement in inter- and transregional fora is marked by balancing. This had, third, repercussions on densifiying international institutions. The dominance of balancing and an unfavorable opportunity-governance cost ratio explain why institutionalizing is based on "soft law" and "soft institutions"; rationalizing, agenda-setting and crisis management performances are less than satisfactory. Fourth and last, the shortcomings of inter- and transregional fora notwithstanding, it would be too pessimistic to conclude with Wolfgang Reinecke that "the current state of global governance resembles at best a loose set of crossnational policy patchworks, conspicuous for their missing links and unnecessary overlaps". Inter- and transregional dialogues established by and with the EU definitely have the potential to become important intermediaries of a multilayered system of global governance with global institutions, regional organizations and the nation states as nodal points. Show more