Global EU in a Multiplex World of Polycrisis (MULTIPLEX-EU) is a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ programme (Grant Agreement No. 101230493) and coordinated by Marmara University in Istanbul, Türkiye.
The project explores the evolving role of the European Union (EU) in addressing the complex challenges of today’s fragmented and turbulent international order. In an era shaped by overlapping crises (polycrisis) — including geopolitical tensions, climate change, pandemics, and global instability — and by growing complexity (multiplexity), the EU’s strategies, partnerships, and governance approaches are more critical than ever.
Interregionalism
Investigating the EU’s partnerships with regional organizations such as ASEAN, MERCOSUR, and the African Union, and how these alliances help manage crises, foster cooperation, and promote stability in a polarized world.
Multiplexity
Examining how the EU adapts to a global governance system defined by multiple power centers, competing interests, and the rise of new actors such as BRICS and the Global South.
Global Commons Governance
Analyzing the EU’s contribution to shaping norms and rules for shared spaces — including cyberspace, outer space, the seas, and polar regions — while addressing challenges posed by illicit activities, multinational corporations, and state actors.
Through an interdisciplinary and multi-layered approach, MULTIPLEX-EU integrates research, teaching, training, and policy dialogue to foster academic exchange and enhance understanding of the EU’s evolving role in global governance. Activities include expert seminars, summer schools, workshops, and certificate programmes, designed to equip participants with both theoretical knowledge and practical policy insights.
Ultimately, the project seeks to strengthen the academic and policy debate on Europe’s global actorness, its capacity to respond to the age of polycrisis, and its role in shaping a more cooperative and rules-based international order.
Our Thematic Focus
We explore how the European Union engages with regional partners, rising powers, and shared global challenges through six interrelated thematic areas.
EU and Inter-Regionalism
We examine how the EU builds and manages inter-regional partnerships — such as with ASEAN, MERCOSUR, and the African Union — to navigate crises and promote stability in a polarized world.
EU and the Multiplex World: Developing World
We analyze how the EU responds to competing visions of global governance, engaging with the Global South, the Middle East, and other emerging actors.
EU and the Multiplex World: Rising Powers
We focus on the EU’s relations with rising powers such as BRICS, using workshops, a summer school/MOOC, and policy debates to explore strategy in a multiplex order.
EU and Global Commons
We explore the EU’s contribution to governing shared spaces — cyberspace, outer space, the seas, and the polar regions — through teaching, training, and policy dialogue.
EU and Global Commons: Mitigating Transnationalism
We address how the EU mitigates transnational challenges and strengthens its normative role in setting rules and standards for shared global spaces.
Project Launch, Outreach & Implementation
We laid the groundwork by developing our visual identity, website and social channels, organizing the kick-off meeting, and introducing our themes through an opening seminar.