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Francesco Nicoli / January 2026
This paper argues that the international system is entering a neo-imperial phase marked by eroding legal constraints the return of spheres of influence and systematic military economic and political coercion. We begin by proposing a novel definition of empire, applying it to the United States, Russia and China. We then argue that the European Union faces a sovereignty paradox, since fragmented authority and national vetoes expose Europe to external pressures while preventing the creation of joint capabilities. Nonetheless, we suggest that the European Commission has been able to negotiate, within the narrow legal spaces it has been afforded, a series of foundational steps upon which a novel European geopolitical architecture could be built. We conclude assessing short- and medium-term reforms which could be enacted in the years to come to prepare the European Union for a more dangerous and more competitive global environment.
Keywords: European Union, sovereignty, empires, nationalism
