Abstract
How has the European Union transformed its policy arsenal to counter coercion? This work introduces geo-legality—a condition wherein legal-normative authority counters external coercion—examining how the EU has redefined its self-defense amid contemporary rivalry between great powers (such as itself and China). Analyzing China’s 2021–2022 economic coercion against Lithuania, following Lithuania’s acceptance of a “Taiwanese Representative Office,” I demonstrate how targeted pressure catalyzed Brussels’ institutional innovation, including the Anti-Coercion Instrument, WTO litigation (DS-610), enhanced investment screening, and reforms to the Blocking Statute. Through process tracing, comparative jurisprudential analysis, and Delphi consultation with 23 EU institutional actors, the present work reveals how the EU as a mid-sized power may neutralize material coercion by institutionalizing legal counter-leverage and using regulatory precedents to lock in procedural advantages. Ultimately, the findings show that regulatory rule-setting has become the core terrain for contesting (geo-)strategic agency in contemporary global affairs and governance.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Vartanian, Peter H.
(2025)
"EU (Legal) Statecraft in an Age of Coercion,"
Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union:
Vol. 2025, Article 14.
Available at:
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/urceu/vol2025/iss1/14