EU Support for Robust, Effective, and Democratic Global Governance: A Conceptual Framework

The ENSURED project addresses the following research question: How can the EU and its members, in a contested world in transition, transform and defend global governance to make it more robust, effective, and democratic? This conceptual framework provides the basis for the empirical analysis of the project, which includes case studies, comparative analyses, and an expert survey. It starts by operationalising the three core concepts of the project – robust, effective, and democratic global governance – and considers their interactions. The conceptual framework then identifies the unexploited potential for global governance reform by unpacking the positions of major international actors. It also clarifies alternative pathways to global governance transformation and specifically considers the role that the EU and its members play in these processes.