Heterogeneity of the European Union's strategic partners: can they still be compatible?

Abstract

The present paper aims at investigating EU’s strategic partners using both theoretical and empirical analysis. Applying the technique of cluster analysis allowed us, first, to demonstrate that not all of the EU’s ‘special ten’ are strategically sound for the EU; second, to investigate which regional organizations represent the best interest of the EU from a strategic standpoint; third, to find out the true potential of the EU’s strategic partners; and, finally, to prove empirically that the EU’s strategic partners are so heterogeneous as to represent a collective response to multilateralism and that a bilateral approach should be applied instead, taking into consideration the specific character of every strategic partner.