The European Union’s external trade policy after the Treaty of Lisbon: a neo-gramscian perspective

This paper applies neo-Gramscian theory to analyze the European Union’s external trade policy after the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. It argues that despite the claim that procedural and institutional changes which took place as a result of the ratification of the Treaty serve the general interest of the EU citizens, they were in fact orchestrated by the European transnational capitalist class and serve primarily interests of this group. Paper starts by outlining key institutional and procedural changes introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, briefly outlining their implications for the EU. Further on, rationale for these changes is explained by focusing on socio-economic developments that took place in the EU during the past couple of decades. After outlining how the current hegemonic bloc was established, paper proceeds with explaining why the implemented changes were so important for the dominant in the EU social forces