A new world order? : A methodological approach to the soft and hard power of the European Union

Abstract: The European Union have since the signing of the Rome treaty in 1957, come to be a new superpower in the world, spreading the word of soft power through the economic and democratic cooperation in the pan-European continent. The theory of soft and hard power and the theory of diffusion of innovations illuminate how the European Union has been able to increase their influence and gain power in the world, as it has become the largest economy in the world. Through this soft power focus, the European Union has been able to grow and to act as a model for success as it attracts other parts of the world by the positive messages of cooperation and economic integration. This should be seen in a time when the US has increasingly acted unilateral in their foreign policy and experienced increasing legitimacy problems on the global scale. The understanding of the development of the European Union to its contemporary magnitude through the theory of soft and hard power and the diffusion of innovations, what I call cooptive enlargement, brings new light of how to understand its development and influence in the world. This theory could further be used to analyze and understand why and how other parts of the world create trade areas and Unions in their quest for future peace, democracy and economic development. The European Union has through this cooptive enlargement come to lay the foundation to a new world order, enabling all parts of the world to collide into a prosperous future of cooperation.