Geoliberal Europe and the Test of War

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed Europe into a new strategic era. The knock-on effects of the war have combined to open a period of reordering across the European continent. European governments and the European Union collectively have begun to fashion policies for this shift, recognizing this to be a pivotal historical moment.

Richard Youngs unpacks the different dynamics that have come to characterize European policies in the wake of the war: the nature of EU integration, geopolitical power, defence priorities, European borders, liberal values, the green transition and economic sovereignty. The book looks to the future and outlines the issues and choices with which European governments still need to grapple. Youngs develops the notion of geoliberalism as a way of addressing these challenges and guiding European governments and the EU into the fragile order taking shape in the shadow of Ukraine’s war.

Richard Youngs is Senior Fellow at Carnegie Europe and Professor of International and European Politics at the University of Warwick. He is the author of fifteen books and co-founder of the European Democracy Hub.