Here is a double paradox: The European Union’s (EU) set of founding principles—its telos, so to speak—are undergoing a two-track inversion. The block was initially designed to slide gently towards federalization whilst remaining a largely toothless actor on the world stage. And yet the opposite has happened: the EU has since grown into a powerful geopolitical player of its own that is internally at peace with the present deadlock of integration. Sometime between the eurozone crisis of the early 2010s and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the EU’s entire architecture has been turned inside out. Scholars, journalists and analysts in Brussels and European capitals are still at pains to gauge the depth of this compete revolution. Stefan Auer of Hong Kong University may have lost some sleep over it. A former—and likely future—recipient of the prestigious Jean Monnet Chair for EU studies, he’s as astute an observer as any of the block’s institutional dynamics. He argues in his most recent book that, instead of seeking to transcend the laws of politics, the EU would be well advised to heed them. In this episode he sits down with us and Glyn Morgan, associate professor at Syracuse University’s politics department. As always, please rate and review Uncommon Decency on Apple Podcasts, and send us your comments or questions either on Twitter at @UnDecencyPod or by e-mail at undecencypod@gmail.com. And please consider supporting the show through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/undecencypod.