Understanding the EU’s Global Gateway through the lens of role theory: Adjusting its role enactment to defend the liberal order
Abstract
The Global Gateway represents a strategic adaptation of the EU’s role enactment amid an increasingly fragmented international order. Confronted with the challenges posed by China’s Belt and Road Initiative and a weakened Liberal International Order, the EU recalibrated its external action to preserve liberal norms and institutions. Drawing on role theory, this article interprets the Global Gateway as a manifestation of role adaptation, enabling the EU to assert itself geopolitically while promoting a development model grounded in liberal principles and values. This initiative underscores the EU’s evolving self-conception as a defender of the Liberal International Order in a competitive global landscape.
Fields of Study & Subjects
International Relations and Foreign Policy
Global Security and Public Health
European Union Policy and Governance
Publication details
- Journal / source
- The British Journal of Politics and International Relations
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1017–1037
- Publication date
- 5 January 2026
- Language
- EN