Exploring the EU relationships in conflict early warning: Autonomy, cooperation, and hierarchies

Both cooperation among actors and sustaining peace and security worldwide are part of the visions of the dominant order. Based on the assumption that Europeans are affected by widespread crisis and challenges, in the past decades the European Union has become even more active as a global security actor. It includes both being involved into conflict early warning and response, as well as building relationships with other actors in this field, such as international organizations and INGOs. In this regard, the EU position continues to evolve around both the norm of cooperation and the principle of strategic autonomy. While the recent tumultuous transitions strip the inter-organizational cooperation of its rhetorical formalities pointing more than ever to the prevalence of the so-called "rational choices" and, moreover, the hierarchies that underlie these choices.