The EU as a Global Actor and the Dynamics of Interregionalism: A Comparative Analysis

This article presents a comparative analysis of the role of interregionalism in the European Union’s foreign policies and external relations, with a particular focus on some of the most important regions around the world: Africa, Asia, South America, North America and Central and Eastern Europe. After a brief comparative assessment of the EU’s interregional relationships, the article provides three partly overlapping and intersecting accounts of the variation in the policy of interregionalism across regions: (i) promoting a liberal internationalist agenda; (ii) building the EU’s identity as a global actor; and (iii) promoting the EU’s power and competitiveness. The analysis concludes by sketching some ingredients of an emerging research agenda on the study of the EU’s foreign policy and interregionalism.