Hic Rhodus, hic salta! The European Union in the Multipolar World Order

The EU could play an outstanding role in the multipolar world order. Its multilevel structure is an example for other regions in the world. But its universalism in democracy and human rights tempts the EU to overextend itself. It tries to integrate states that do not belong to Western culture. At the same time, member states are intervening militarily in other cultures. Both weaken the EU's ability to act and hamper the accumulation of the power that is indispensable to making the new world order governable. Greater self-limitation would strengthen the EU's ability to act.