Practices within the European Union’s governance

The European Union’s (EU) governance’s practices are infused with power dynamics. When the power dynamics confront the social dialectic, complex effects are generated that often point in opposite directions. For example, such effects may call for integration and also fragmentation. This empirical paper explores whether or how the practice approach allows a focus on the EU’s governance’s practices, imbued with power, leading in opposite directions when confronted by social interactions. It deals with this question by means of three illustrative short cases representing broad-spectrum practices within contemporary European politics: power politics and Covid-19; the EU in Afghanistan after August 2021; and the Micro Communities of Practice and the EU’s foreign policy regarding China’s Belt and Road Initiative. By directing attention towards the power dynamics of one process and its opposite while facing the social context, we show the contribution of the practice approach to the unpacking of the informal practices that are inherent within the EU’s governance.