AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ’NİN LİBERAL ULUSLARARASI DÜZEN İÇERİSİNDEKİ KONUMU: STRATEJİK ORTAKLIKTAN KÜRESEL REKABETE?

Öz

Bu çalışma Soğuk Savaş döneminden itibaren liberal uluslararası sistem içinde Avrupa Birliği’nin (A.B.) rolünü ve devletlerarası emperyalist rekabet içindeki konumunu tarihsel bir bakış açısıyla çalışmayı amaçlar. Soğuk Savaş sırasında stratejik ortak olan Avrupa Ekonomik Topluluğu, Kuzey Atlantik Antlaşması Örgütü (NATO) bünyesinde Sovyetler Birliği’ni çevreleme politikasına dahil olurken, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri (A.B.D.) ekonomik olarak güçlü bir Avrupa entegrasyonuna Batı Bloğu’nu da güçlendireceği öngörüsüyle destek vermiştir. Soğuk Savaş’ın sona ermesi bölgesel güçlerin daha özerk politikalar izlemeleri için alan yaratmıştır. A.B. 1993 Maastricht Anlaşması ile Ortak Dış ve Güvenlik Politikası’nı oluşturarak uluslararası politikada siyasi bir aktör olmak için adım atarken, Ekonomik ve Parasal Birlik ile doların hegemonyasına alternatif olma yolunda önemli bir gelişme kaydetmiştir. Ancak 2008 Büyük Duraklama ile birlikte Avrupa entegrasyonu çoklu krize girmiştir. Kuzey ve Güney Avrupa ülkeleri arasındaki sosyo-ekonomik farklılıklar, aşırı sağ ve popülist liderlerin yükselişi entegrasyonun krizini de derinleştirmiş. Bu temel tarihsel gelişmeler göz önünde bulundurulduğunda çalışmanın üç araştırma sorusu vardır. İkinci Dünya Savaşı’ndan sonra uluslararası sistem içinde A.B.’nin rolü ve gücünün niteliğinde ne gibi değişimler ve devamlılıklar gözlemlemek mümkündür? Soğuk Savaş sonrası A.B. sermayesi A.B.D. sermayesi ile emperyalist bir rekabet içinde midir yoksa Soğuk Savaş döneminin devamlılığı niteliğinde sermaye emperyalizminin A.B.D. liderliğinde devam ettiğini iddia etmek olası mıdır? Avrupa sermayesi temsilcileri Transatlantik ilişkiler konusunda ne gibi bir pozisyon geliştirmişlerdir? Çalışmada bulgular üç tarihsel dönem içinde analiz edilecektir: Soğuk Savaş dönemi, Soğuk Savaş Sonrası dönem ve 2008 Büyük Durgunluk sonrası dönem.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Avrupa Birliği
• A.B.D.
• Transatlantik İlişkiler
• Emperyalizm
• Küresel Rekabet

Understanding Position of the European Union within the Liberal International Order: Strategic Partner or Global Rivalry?

Öz

This article aims to historically study role and position of the European Union (EU) in liberal international system since the Cold War period. During the Cold War, the European Economic Community (EEC) cooperated with the United States (US) within NATO in containing the Soviet threat while the US supported economic recovery of the European integration assuming that it would also empower the Western Alliance. The end of Cold War engendered opportunities for regional powers to adopt more independent policies. Within such a context, the EU founded the Common Foreign and Security Policy and took steps to establish Economic and Monetary Union with the 1993 Maastricht Treaty which would render the EU an international actor and challenge the supremacy of US dollar. However, the EU has been in multiple crises since 2008 Great Recession. Socio-economic disparities between the North and South European member states and the rise of far right and populist politics has deepened crisis of European integration. This study aspires to address three research questions. What are historical continuities and changes in the role of the EU within the liberal international system? Is it possible to argue that the EU is in an imperial rivalry with the US capital or the US continues to lead the empire of capital at the international level? What is the position of European capital regarding Transatlantic relations? The findings are presented at three historical periods: Cold War, post-Cold War and 2008 Great Recession.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• European Union
• United States
• Transatlantic Relations
• Imperialism
• Global Rivalry

Kaynakça

1. Albo, G. ve Fanelli, C. (2014). Austerity against Democracy: An Authoritarian phase of Neoliberalism?. https://socialistproject.ca/pamphlets/austerity-democracy-authoritarian-phase-neoliberalism/
2. Anghel, V. ve Jones, E. (2024). The Transatlantic Relationship and the Russia-Ukraine War. Political Science Quarterly, 139(4), 509-528. https://doi.org/10.1093/psquar/qqae051
3. Becker, J. ve Jäger, J. (2010). Development Trajectories in the Crisis in Europe. Debatte: Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, 18(1), 5–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/09651561003732488
4. Bieler, A. (2000). Globalisation and Enlargement of the European Union: Austrian and Swedish Social Forces in the Struggle over Membership. Routledge.
5. Bieling, H., Jäger, J. ve Ryner, M. (2016). Regulation Theory and the Political Economy of the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 54(1), 53-69. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12331
6. Bonefeld, W. (2015). European Economic Constitution and the Transformation of Democracy: On Class and the State of Law. European Journal of International Relations, 21(4), 867-886. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066115570158
7. Bonefeld, W. (2017). Authoritarian Liberalism: From Schmitt via Ordoliberalism to the Euro. Critical Sociology, 43(4-5), 747-761. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920516662695
8. Boyer, R. (2000). The Unanticipated Fallout of European Monetary Union: The Political and Institutional Deficits of the Euro. C. Crouch (Der.), After the Euro: Shaping Institutions for Governance in the Wake of European Monetary Union (ss. 24-89). Oxford University Press.

9. Bretherton, C. ve Vogler, J. (1999). The European Union as a Global Actor. Routledge.
10. BusinessEurope. (2024). A Proactive Trade Agenda for EU Competitiveness: Priorities for the Next Political Cycle. https://www.businesseurope.eu/publications/a-proactive-trade-agenda-for-eu-competitiveness-priorities-for-the-next-political-cycle/
11. BusinessEurope. (2025a). BusinessEurope Welcomes the EU-US Agreement Averting Tariff Escalations. https://www.businesseurope.eu/publications/businesseurope-welcomes-the-eu-u-s-agreement-averting-tariff-escalation/
12. BusinessEurope. (2025b). BusinessEurope’s Views and Priorities Ahead of the EU-China Summit – Letter to Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa. https://www.businesseurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025-07-16-EU-China-Summit-letter-to-President-von-der-Leyen.pdf
13. BusinessEurope. (2025c). EU-U.S. Relations: Business Views on the Way Forward. https://www.businesseurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025-05-12-EU-US-Relations-Business-Views-on-the-Way-Forward.pdf
14. BusinessEurope. (2025d). EU in a New Political Cycle: Competitiveness as a True Priority in a Complex Global Context. https://www.businesseurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Reform-Barometer-2025_DIGITAL_FINAL.pdf
15. BusinessEurope. (2025e). Spring Economic Outlook: EU’s Modest Growth Insufficient to Meet Global Challenges. https://www.businesseurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025-06-BusinessEurope-spring-economic-outlook.pdf
16. Cafruny, A. (2016). The Transatlantic Imperium after the Global Financial Crisis: Atlanticism Fractured or Consolidated?. A. Cafruny, L. S. Talani ve G. P. Martin (Der.), Handbook of Critical International Political Economy (ss. 9-29). Palgrave Macmillan.
17. Cafruny, A. ve Fouskas, V. K. (2024). Ukraine, Europe, and the Re-routing of Globalization. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 26(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2023.2197635
18. Callinicos, A. (2009). Imperialism and Global Political Economy. Polity.
19. Carnegie Endowment. (2024). Understanding the EU’s New Defense Industrial Strategy. https://carnegieendowment.org/emissary/2024/03/understanding-the-eus-new-defense-industrial-strategy?lang=en
20. Cladi, L. (2025). Transatlantic Solidarity in the Shadow of the Russian-Ukrainian War: A Neorealist Explanation. Defence Studies, 25(4), 825-44. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14702436.2025.2562974
21. Cox, R. W. (1987). Production, Power, and World Order: Social Forces in the Making of History. Columbia University Press.
22. Diez, T. (2005). Constructing the Self and Changing the Others: Reconsidering ‘Normative Power Europe’. Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 33(3), 613-636. https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298050330031701
23. Dinan, D. (2010). Ever Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ERT. (2022). Priorities to Secure Outcomes at the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council. https://ert.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-12-05-ERT-Priorities-for-the-TTC.pdf
24. ERT. (2024). ERT Statement on the 6th Ministrial Meeting of the Trade & Technology Council. https://ert.eu/documents/ert-statement-on-the-6th-ministerial-meeting-of-the-trade-technology-council/
25. European Commission. (2022). Speech by President von der Leyen at the European Parliament Plenary on the Russian Aggression against Ukraine. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/ro/speech_22_1483
26. European Commission. (2024). A new European Industrial Strategy: Achieving EU Readiness through a Responsive and Resilient European Defence Industry. https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/document/download/643c4a00-0da9-4768-83cd-a5628f5c3063_en?filename=EDIS%20Joint%20Communication.pdf
27. European Commission. (2025). White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030. https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/e6d5db69-e0ab-4bec-9dc0-3867b4373019_en?filename=White%20paper%20for%20European%20defence%20%E2%80%93%20Readiness%202030.pdf
28. European Union. (2022). A Strategic Compass for Security and Defence. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/strategic_compass_en3_web.pdf
29. Guardian. (2019). Macron Defends ‘Brain-dead NATO Remarks as Summit Approaches’. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/28/macron-defends-brain-dead-nato-remarks-as-summit-approaches
30. Guardian. (2025a). Now is not the Time for the US or Europe to Go it Alone, Warns NATO Chief. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/26/now-is-not-the-time-for-the-us-or-europe-to-go-it-alone-warns-nato-chief
31. Guardian. (2025b). EU-US tariffs: What is in the Trade Deal, What is not and Who are the Winners and Losers?. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/28/eu-us-trade-deal-tariffs-european-union-five-key-takeaways
32. Hamilton, D. S. ve Quinlan, J. P. (2025). The Transatlantic Economy 2025: Annual Survey of Jobs, Trade and Investment Between the United States and Europe. https://transatlantic.amchameu.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Transatlantic_Economy_2025.pdf
33. Hakansson, C. (2024). The Ukraine War and the Emergence of the European Commission as a Geopolitical Actor. Journal of European Integration, 46(1), 25-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2023.2239998
34. Held, D. ve McGrew, A. (2000). The Global Transformations Reader: An Introduction to the Globalization Debate. Polity.
35. Hirst, P. ve Thompson, G. (1996). Globalization in Question: The International Economy and the Possibilities of Governance. Polity.
36. International Monetary Fund. (2025). COFER (Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves). https://data.imf.org/en/Data-Explorer?datasetUrn=IMF.STA:COFER(7.0.0)
37. Kiely, R. (2010). Rethinking Imperialism. Palgrave Macmillan.
38. Lapavitsas, C. (2009). Financialised Capitalism: Crisis and Financial Expropriation. Historical Materialism, 17(2), 114-148. https://doi.org/10.1163/156920609X436153
39. Manners, I. (2002). Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms?. Journal of Common Market Studies, 40(2), 235-258. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5965.00353
40. Müller, J. W. (2016). What is Populism?. University of Pennsylvania Press.
41. NATO (2025). NATO Concludes Historic Summit in the Hague. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_236516.htm
42. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2025). Doğrudan Yabancı Yatırım Stokları. https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/fdi-stocks.html
43. Patnaik, P. (1990). Whatever Happened to Imperialism. Monthly Review, 42(6), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.14452/MR-042-06-1990-10_1
44. Riddervold, M. ve Rieker, P. (2024). Finally Coming of Age? EU Foreign and Security Policy after Ukraine. European Security, 33 (3), 497-516. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09662839.2024.2376616
45. Scharpf, F. (1996). A New Social Contract? Negative and Positive Integration in the Political Economy of European Welfare States, EUI Working Paper. 96(44).
46. Scholte, J. A. (2005). Globalization: A critical Introduction. Palgrave Macmillan.
47. Smith, K. E. (2003). European Union Foreign Policy in a Changing World. Polity.
48. Van Apeldoorn, B. (2013). The European Capitalist Class and the Crisis of its Hegemonic Project. L. Panitch, G. Albo ve V. Chibber (Der.), Socialist Register 2014: Registering Class (ss. 189-206). Merlin Press.
49. Van der Pijl, K. (2019). A Transnational Class Analysis of the Current Crisis. B. Jessop ve H. Overbeek (Der.), Transnational Capital and Class Fractions: The Amsterdam School Perspective Reconsidered (s. 241-262). Routledge.
50. World Bank (2025). GSYİH yıllık (%). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?end=2024&locations=EU-US&start=2007
51. Wood, E. M. (2003). Empire of Capital. Verso.