Displacing ordoliberalism in favour of EU sovereignty: An analysis of green EU industrial policy from a Cultural Political Economy perspective

This paper analyses the multi-layered and sometimes contradictory new industrial policy of the European Union (EU) in the context of the climate crisis and shifting global power dynamics. Using the framework of Cultural Political Economy (CPE), which emphasizes the interdependence of the cultural and social levels. The findings show that the EU is reassessing its perspective and position in the global market in light of current crises, incorporating economic security concerns, and accordingly adapting its industrial strategy. Based on the different objectives reflected in the EU’s economic imaginary, the paper reconstructs four strategic selectivities of the emerging EU industrial policy. The paper concludes that neoliberalism is increasingly displaced in the EU’s economic imaginary and strategic selectivities, but not entirely – leaving room for its potential return to EU industrial policy in the future. The paper thus contributes to scholarly debates on EU industrial policy and the political economy of neoliberalism.