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 am currently working on several articles and a special issue for JEPP - to be published in late 2025 - on the "return of externalism" in EU politics and European integration studies. The special issue is a joint effort with multiple colleagues, concluding two years of collaboration via workshops and academic conferences.
"Some differences, many similarities" (EPSR 2023) 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:
