The European Union as a Geopolitical Actor: Towards a Pragmatic-Normative Agenda

This study employs a qualitative analytical methodology grounded in a comprehensive review of policy documents, strategic statements by European political leaders, and relevant literature to examine the European Union (EU) as a multifaceted geopolitical actor. It applies a geopolitics-as-method-of-analysis framework, drawing particularly on Jakub J. Grygiel’s onceptualization of geopolitics as the environment within which states operate, and Nuno Morgado’s neoclassical geopolitics
model, which highlights how systemic stimuli are filtered through the perceptions and capacities of decision-making elites. This dual theoretical lens is used to explore the EU’s strategic priorities, value-driven identity, and diverse foreign policy instruments. As such, the study innovatively integrates theoretical perspectives on EU power identity, tracing its evolution from the framework of “Civilian Power Europe” to the notions of “normative power”, “ethical power”, and “militarization”, thus offering a nuanced understanding of the EU’s hybrid civilian-military role. Through a
systematic mapping of the EU’s geopolitical focus on key region Europe (notably Ukraine), the Middle East, the Mediterranean, the Western Balkans, and global partners—alongside an examination of its normative values and policy toolkit, the study advances EU studies by bridging theoretical discourse with practical developments. Its critical engagement with tensions between ideals and pragmatism, as well as coordination challenges among member states, provides fresh insights into the EU’s capacity and constraints as a global actor. This work contributes to the
evolving scholarship by proposing a “pragmatic-normative” approach that accommodates the EU’s unique post-Westphalian, hybrid nature in international relations.