Political long-termism and the European Union: Five research questions for the future

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of political long-termism, defined as the conscious choice to prioritise the future consequences of today's political actions over their short-term benefits and emphasises its relevance in the realm of European Studies. It contends that the European Union (EU), in theory, possesses the potential to address creeping crises more effectively than its member states, while acknowledging the varying degrees of support for political long-termism within different EU institutions. The article advocates for additional research to explore the EU and international organisations' role in fostering political long-termism, an area that has seen limited empirical investigation. To do so, it proposes five research questions as a starting point to establish political long-termism as a subdiscipline of European Studies. As such, it aims to set the agenda by shedding light on the intertemporal aspect of EU politics.