Recasting world order: power politics, contestation and international institutions

How has Europe dealt with contestation of core policies that are connected to existential threats? This chapter argues that under high contestation and deadlock in European institutions, powerful states can be expected to establish non-institutions that control vital resources and leverage access to shape the work of the EU. While it may be surprising for Europe to respond outside the box of EU rules and procedures, such measures have provided ways to make Europe more resilient in the face of extreme pressure and division. This in turn makes Europe a more resilient player on the world stage. This chapter looks primarily at Germany's relatively successful reordering of Europe in the economic realm, at France's fledgling attempts to reorder Europe in the security sphere.