Beyond the civilian power EU debate

Abstract

This article argues that the European Union is no longer a civilian power; instead it finds itself, like almost every other international actor on the planet, somewhere along a spectrum between two ideal-types of civilian and military power. But instead of debating what the European Union is (civilian power or not), we should move beyond this to analyse and debate what the EU does in international relations. The article suggests a few lines of enquiry to open that debate.