Historicising the geopolitics of competition

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• GGP: Global Governance Programme

In this lecture, Grace Ballor explains the historical aspects of European and Asian competition.

During this event, Grace Ballor, an international economic historian with a focus on European integration, pairs two articles on the geopolitical dynamics of Europe’s approaches to competition with Asian rivals. The first paper reconstructs the dynamics of the 'Elements of consensus' agreement between the European Commission and Japan in the 1990s, to curb Japanese car competition in the Single European Market. 

The second paper, 'Cars and Climate Change', discusses current tensions between the EU and China in the global industrial policy contest of green transition to electric vehicles. Together, these papers narrate a longer history of the geopolitics of competition between Europe and Asia. In this lecture, Dr Ballor will delve into the historical aspects of this global competition and presents her latest research.