European Union

This chapter examines the European Union’s (EU) evolving role as a “supra-state power” in the twenty-first century’s great-power competition. While not a state in the traditional sense, the EU wields unique tools that amplify its influence on the global stage. By leveraging economic integration, regulatory power, and adherence to key values, the Union exerts strategic weight beyond that of its individual member states. The chapter explores how the EU’s power, rooted in rules, standard setting, and multilateralism, is instrumental in making the EU’s voice heard in the international arena, and how its initiatives position it in comparison to other great powers, notably the United States, China, and Russia. Yet, external pressures test the EU’s capacity to act cohesively. Ultimately, the chapter argues that the EU’s supra-state character is central to understanding contemporary geopolitics and the dynamics of great-power competition