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How can a common European historical memory enhance EU's soft power after the COVID-19 crisis?

Research Paper by Ionuț-Mircea Marcu

15.12.2020


Abstract

A European historical memory framework focused on solidarity would enhance EU soft power

The present research paper argues that the European Union should redefine its goals on the global stage and critically assess its own foreign policy instruments, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and tensions within the liberal global order. With limited capabilities to act as a hard power competitor, while being a strong advocate for multilateralism and cooperation, EU must find new and innovative ways to use diplomacy and soft power. As a consequence, this research aims to analyse the ways in which the EU`s soft power could be enhanced after the COVID-19 crisis. The paper looks at the connection between a common European memory and the concept of solidarity. Emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War, the European project had at its core from the very beginning the idea of solidarity. On the other hand, European historical memory is still very much an objective, rather than a reality, but its further development could promote and enhance a stronger European project.

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About the author

Ionuț-Mircea MARCU is an expert at the European Institute of Romania and a PhD Candidate at the University of Bucharest and École des hautes études en sciences sociales Paris. He has received fellowships and scholarships from Konrad Adenaur Stiftung, the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of Romanian Exile, and Centre Régional Francophone de Recherches Avancées en Sciences Sociales.


#EUsolidarity #historicalmemory #EUsoftpower #internationalpolitics


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