Why choose Europe? The place of the European Union in the architecture of international legal cooperation

For years the european union has been looked on as a potential model for cosmopolitan governance, and enjoyed considerable influence on the global stage. The eu has a uniquely strong and legally binding mission statement to pursue international relations on a multilateral basis, founded on the progressive development of international law. The political vision was for the eu to export its values of the rule of law and sophisticated governance mechanisms to the international sphere. Globalization and the financial crisis have starkly illustrated the limits of this vision, and the eu's dependence on global forces partially beyond the control of traditional provinces of law. This book takes stock of the eu's role in global governance. It asks: to what extent can and does the eu shape and influence the on-going re-ordering of legal processes, principles, and institutions of global governance, in line with its optimistic mission statement? with this ambitious remit it covers the legal-institutional and substantive aspects of global security, trade, environmental, financial, and social governance. Across these topics this book has taken the central question of the extent of the eu's influence on global governance, providing a broad view across the key areas as well as a detailed analysis of each.