How does the European Union (EU) frame cybersecurity in its strategic approach? Given the widely recognised supremacy of the US and China in technological advancements and dominance in cyberspace, the EU has been facing the challenge of defining its position towards cyberspace governance, one of the key geopolitical challenges of the 21st century. The present contribution aims to ascertain how the EU frames cybersecurity in its strategic approach. We undertake a frame analysis of EU strategic documents in the cybersecurity realm and identify four frames delineating the EU’s key priorities within the digital sphere. While the analysis reveals oscillations between promises and paradoxes regarding the EU’s ambitions as a digital actor, highlighting tensions between the EU’s human-centred purposes and its strategic geopolitical interests, we emphasise the significance of the human-centred approach as one of four equally pivotal dimensions of the EU cybersecurity policy. By consistently labelling its cybersecurity strategy under the human-centred approach, the EU has been positioning itself as a pioneer in human rights in the digital realm, striving to develop a human-centred digital development model that prioritises individual rights, transparency, and trust. However, this dimension has evolved alongside the EU’s growing ambitions for technological leadership, competitiveness in cyberspace and digital sovereignty. Eventually, the EU faces a fundamental dilemma: maintaining its relevance as a global actor in the digital space while safeguarding its core values, including the protection of individual rights and the promotion of an open and secure cyberspace. This challenge includes reconciling the EU’s pursuit of digital sovereignty with its commitment to fostering a safe and inclusive digital environment for all its citizens in the spirit of the human-centred approach.

Policy analysis is inherently intricate due to the lack of universal agreement on what public policy entails or how it should be examined. This intricacy stems from the diverse theoretical and methodological approaches that inform the field. The analysis of digital policies, in particular, presents even greater challenges. These policies are intertwined with complex systems and markets, have global implications, and are often shaped by geopolitical dynamics, further complicating their study.

The examination of policy, including digital policy, can be approached and classified in numerous ways. The policy theory literature offers various frameworks and perspectives for understanding and defining policy. In this paper, we utilize typologies based on ontological (the nature of reality) and epistemological (the nature of knowledge) assumptions to investigate the development of EU digital policies. Our objective is to uncover the mechanisms driving policy change in the digital realm and the factors that catalyze such shifts.

Furthermore, we delve into critical elements of digital policy analysis, such as identifying key stakeholders, areas of agreement and disagreement, and how different groups perceive and interpret digital policies. We also explore how political actors and broader societal groups frame and conceptualize digital policy challenges, as these perspectives can significantly shape decision-making and outcomes.

This paper employs both traditional and contemporary policy analysis methods to analyze case studies of EU digital policies. Through this approach, it seeks to enrich the broader conversation on policy formulation and evaluation. Additionally, it provides a platform to reevaluate existing policy frameworks, research methodologies, and advocacy strategies, offering valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders navigating the rapidly changing digital landscape.

This research seeks to examine how the European Union (EU) leverages digital soft power diplomacy to promote its policies and interests in the Mediterranean area. As the geopolitical landscape in the region evolves, marked by rising tensions and competing influences from regional and global powers, the EU has increasingly turned to technology-driven diplomatic tools to maintain its relevance and influence. These tools include digital platforms, social media campaigns, virtual engagements, and data-driven strategies aimed at shaping perceptions, building alliances, and influencing policymaking. By analyzing the EU’s use of these digital tools, this study will evaluate the effectiveness of its strategies in achieving key policy objectives, such as fostering regional stability, promoting cooperation, and countering disinformation. Additionally, the research will explore the EU’s role as an international digital actor, assessing how its digital diplomacy aligns with its broader strategic goals and values, such as promoting democracy, human rights, and multilateralism. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining case studies, stakeholder interviews, and content analysis to provide a comprehensive understanding of the potential and limitations of digital diplomacy in modern international relations. The findings will contribute to both academic and practical understandings of digital diplomacy, shedding light on its potential and limitations in modern international relations. Furthermore, the study will provide actionable recommendations for enhancing the EU’s digital diplomatic efforts, ensuring they remain adaptive and impactful in an increasingly digitalized world. By bridging the gap between theory and practice, this research aims to inform policymakers, diplomats, and scholars on the evolving role of digital tools in shaping the future of diplomacy.

This panel discusses the book titled "The Territorial Dimension of EU Knowledge Policies: Higher Education Institutions for Europe" by Alina J. Felder-Stindt. The book is forthcoming (June 2025) under the Routldege/UACES Contemporary European Studies Series. While the panel chair is confirmed, the panel discussants are still pending. The potential discussants include: Simona Piattoni, Lee Rensimer, Katja Sarmiento-Mirwaldt and Olga Litvyak.

The European Union aims to strengthen economic competitiveness through policies that foster the knowledge economy. These include areas without supranational competence such as higher education (HE). EU regional policy as well ought to strengthen the knowledge economy by distributing structural funding, which amounts to one third and thus a substantial part of the EU budget. Contrary to supranational and sectorial foci of previous research, this book provides a territorial perspective on EU knowledge policies and crosses policy area boundaries. It examines how EU regional policy, endowed with substantial financial resources, influences the comparatively weakly endowed EU HE policy. A theoretical model is developed that combines regionalization typologies with structural, relational, and cognitive Europeanization mechanisms. Empirically, the book compares border region networks among HE institutions that finance their activities through Interreg as the EU regional policy instrument for cross-border cooperation.

The book shows that HE regionalization endeavours are political projects of regional and EU decision-makers, which remain exposed to Europeanization processes in the long term. The analysis not only uncovers adjustment processes at regional level, but also that actors who have benefitted from Interreg strive to influence the EU’s knowledge policies. As a consequence of successfully expanding its influence over HE institution cooperation, the EU contributes to the creation of regional HE and research spaces and the roles of HE institutions in different EU policies are becoming more differentiated. Changes in (sub)national HE policies are as well more likely because cooperating HE institutions encounter barriers posed by different HE systems when implementing EU policies and funding.

Overall, this book expands our understanding of the so-far overlooked territorial dimension of the EU’s knowledge policies crossing policy area boundaries. By showing that (sub)national actors not only implement EU regional policy instruments, but also actively shape EU policies the book provides new insights into the (feedback) effects of EU-funded cross-border cooperation. This book is of key interest to scholars and students of European policymaking, EU integration, EU regional policies, EU public policy courses and more broadly to geography/development, social policy, governance and education policies.