ABSTRACT
The European Union aspires to play a leading role in global politics. It engages in negotiations, cooperation schemes, and conflict resolution processes with a vast number of actors, utilizing an expanding set of tools. Owing to its unique nature, the Union is often said to be a different kind of great power. The degree to which it succeeds in its great power ambitions is a complex matter, however, depending both on the issue area (for instance, in terms of EU competence and resources and the relative strength of other actors) and on how the Union is perceived by others on the international scene.
