CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2026
| Author | Tshering, Ugyen |
|---|---|
| Title | The Defensive Industrial Pivot under Constraint: The EU???s Electric Vehicle Strategy in Global Value Chains |
| Summary | This study examines why the European Union (EU) prioritizes production-stage interventions in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, despite theoretical expectations that long-term value capture lies in pre- and post-production functions. Drawing on Strategic Trade Theory (STT) and Global Value Chain (GVC) analysis and based on a qualitative case study of three policy instruments, the European Battery Alliance, the Green Deal Industrial Plan, and Countervailing Duties on Chinese EV imports, it argues that these measures reflect a defensive industrial pivot, shaped by structural constraints. As a latecomer in an industry dominated by China, the EU faces structural limits to upgrading into high-value segments. The defensive pivot is conceptualized as a strategic response to these constraints, aimed at mitigating latecomer disadvantage through temporal de-risking, averting industrial lock-out, and securing technological sovereignty. While strategically coherent, the implementation is constrained by internal political-economic tensions, including fiscal asymmetries, time-inconsistency, and divergent member-state interests. The study concludes that the viability of the defensive pivot is conditioned by the EU’s capacity to sustain political coordination under constraint. Beyond the EU case, it shows that industrial strategy in latecomer context is shaped by the ability to manage internal constraints under conditions of structural dependence and geopolitical competition. |
| Supervisor | Associate Professor Andrew X. Li |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2026/tshering_ugyen.pdf |
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