EU's Soft Balancing Governance - Andres Wivel | 2025 Episode 5

In this episode, we’ll examine how the EU uses its political, economic, and institutional resources to influence global affairs, often without resorting to direct confrontation. In particular, we’ll focus on soft balancing governance model, and its implications.

Anders Wivel is a Professor of International Relations at University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

His most fundamental research interest is how small states overcome power asymmetry and vulnerability in international relations.

Theoretically, his work begins from a critical and constructive engagement with the Realist tradition in International Relations, most importantly Neoclassical Realism.

Anders was Chief Investigator and Deputy Director of Research in the Independent Inquiry into Denmark’s military engagements in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq commissioned by the Danish Parliament (“Krigsudredningen“).

He is a chair (with Revecca Pedi) of the section “Small States in World Politics” at the European International Studies Association (EISA), and also an active member of the Global Research Network on Peaceful Change (GRENPEC).

Content: (1) Defining Soft Balancing vs Hard Balancing; (2) Soft Power vs Soft Balancing: Key Differences; (3) Relevance of Soft Balancing for EU Governance; (4) Inclusive vs Exclusive Institutional Soft Balancing; (5) Key Historical Milestones in EU Soft Balancing; (6) Lessons from Soft Balancing Failures; (7) Balancing National Sovereignty with Collective Decision-making; (8) The EU’s Institutional Structure: Too Many or Too Few?; (9) The Role of Plasticity in EU Governance Adaptation; (10) Successful and Unsuccessful Soft Balancing with Non-Members; (11) Causes of External Soft Balancing Failures; (12) Approaching Sanctions in Soft Balancing; (13) Official EU Resolutions on Soft Balancing; (14) Soft Balancing and International Relations Theories; (15) Challenges in Implementing Soft Balancing; (16) Soft Balancing in a More Centralized EU; (17) Regions Outside the EU and Soft Balancing Lessons; and (18) The Role of Non-State Actors in Soft Balancing.

Official Website:

https://irthinker.com/

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