The periphery as centre and centre as periphery: European integration as a process of deperipheralization

This paper examines how structural processes rooted in the beginnings of European integration have turned accession to the EU into a means through which states fearful of becoming a strategic periphery could transform their geopolitical position. Though they still face significant imbalances after joining the EU, for new member states accession marks a process of deperipheralization that can provide them with access to strategic opportunities that only equal legal status within a global centre of power can offer. In examining how the EU’s expansion process has enabled European societies to reposition themselves within global geopolitical hierarchies, this paper also outlines how centre-periphery dynamics along the EU’s borders are experiencing a dynamic process of transformation.

Meet our speaker

Alex Clarkson is a Lecturer in European Politics and History at King’s College London. Born in Canada and educated in Hanover, Germany, he studied Modern History at Balliol College, Oxford, where he also completed his doctorate in 2006. After teaching at New College, Oxford, he joined King’s in 2007. His research focuses on European borders, migration, and German politics, with particular attention to how transnational diaspora communities from countries such as Ukraine, Algeria, Iran, Croatia, Turkiye, Syria, Libya and Lebanon have shaped political dynamics across Europe since 1945. He also examines how the European Union’s evolving border systems and increasing militarisation influence its relationships with neighbouring regions in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Maghreb and the Sahel.

LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.