Abstract
The Western liberal order is coming under threat from political systems with no regard to universal values. Spillover effects from outside the EU are having their effects on the Union itself. In the absence of the West making a case for the universality of such values and a clear willingness to defend such values, the West risks losing this ideological battle. Only by the geographic expansion of such values, through actions such as EU-led state-building, can these values be protected in the Union's Eastern and Southern neighbourhood. This paper argues for the necessity for the EU to prioritise its role as a ‘stabiliser’ and security actor in its immediate neighbourhood.
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