European integration does not take place in a geopolitical vacuum. Next to economic and political interdependencies between the EU member states, it is the result of pressures and incentives coming from the outside world. Taking a longer-term perspective, and establishing comparisons between past and more recent events, I document how outside events have shaped European integration.
I have co-edited a special issue for JEPP, published in late 2025, on European integration and EU studies in the new geopolitical age. The special issue brings together a stellar group of acdemic experts working on different policy areas and applying different methodologicla approach. It concludes two years of collaboration via workshops and academic conferences. You can read the introductory article here.
"Some differences, many similarities" (EPSR 2024) compares Europe’s responses to the 1973 oil crisis and the 2022 gas crisis. I show that, despite the more favorable conditions in 2022 and considerable advances in European energy policy over the past 50 years, member states still followed national incentives and priorities also in the EU's most recent energy crisis.
You can find a summary of the article's arguments and findings in the table below:
