In order to remain a relevant global player, Europe should reassess the basic assumptions guiding its diplomatic and geopolitical actions. This paper argues that Europe must reflect upon transatlantic commitments based on the automatic alignment with the United States’ foreign policy vis-à-vis non-Western actors perceived as threats to (allegedly) shared interests. As such, it should resist ideological temptations, as well as political pressures, to stand by Washington’s interventionist practices, especially during the current phase of decline of the Pax Americana. The paper sheds light to the participation of European Union authorities, member-states, and European political figures in recent regime change operations against Venezuela’s democratically elected government, from the recognition of Juan Guaidó as interim president to the diplomatic support for the Lima Group, among others. Drawing on non-Western scholarship, notably on Latin American perspectives, the paper reveals the deleterious role played by European actors that actively contributed to the deepening of Venezuela’s political crisis. The conclusion points to the benefits that might be achieved if Europe manages to disengage from outdated (colonial) mindsets and practices in order to sustain, under 21st century conditions, the position of a global player which can contribute to a truly multilateral world order.
Keywords: Europe, US Foreign Policy, Venezuela.
Miguel Borba de Sá | University of Coimbra, Portugal
Guest professor at the University of Coimbra’s Faculty of Economics, PhD in International Relations (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro) and member of the Interdisciplinary Laboratory on International Relations’ Studies at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Victor Beirith | Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil
Master of Comparative Studies on the Americas candidate and Bachelor in International Relations (Federal University of Santa Catarina) with the the monography “Venezuela Under Siege: the American Imperialist Offensive against the Bolivarian Revolution”.