NATO: The Damage Is Done – So Think Big
For seventy-six years, NATO tried to prove Lord Palmerston wrong. Now it turns out that he was right after all: “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual […]
Europe in the World
In a world that is largely driven by competition and rivalry (and partnership, yet) between great powers, understanding the Grand Strategy of each of these powers is crucial. So is developing a Grand Strategy for the EU itself. An EU that acts as one, as one pole of the multipolar world on a par with the other powers, is the only way to safeguard the way of life that the Member States of the EU have chosen, based on democracy, the free market, and equality.
Power cannot be divided: a global player must have political, economic, as well as military power. To that end, the Europe in the World Programme analyses the diplomacy and defence of the US, China, and Russia, and of the EU, NATO, and their members. We also focus on geoeconomics, researching Open Strategic Autonomy and the Global Gateway as key EU instruments, as well as the geoeconomic approaches of the other powers.
Defence policy is our third main axis of research, with a particular focus on European defence and its interaction with NATO, but also on nuclear deterrence and the deterrence of hybrid threats. Throughout all three research axis, we devote special attention to the role of Belgium, including notably the development of its own National Security Strategy and diplomatic and military capabilities.
Publications
Semiconductors and Statecraft: Belgium’s Role in Europe’s Technological Sovereignty
Abstract Belgium’s global role in semiconductors hinges not on scale but on control of a strategic chokepoint: upstream innovation. With imec at its centre, Belgium functions as Europe’s semiconductor R&D […]
The Geopolitical Impact of USAID’s Retreat on Humanitarian Aid: Towards a Complementary Approach between China and the EU?
Trump’s decision to cut funding and stop most of USAID’s projects will have lasting consequences. First and foremost, it adds great pressure on an already big funding gap. Forgotten and […]
Commentaries
From Belgium to Estonia, and Back
At the start of 2024, I wrote an opinion piece titled “Estonia is building bunkers, Belgium is ordering a study on the possibility of arming drones.” The contrast in defence […]
External publications
Terrorist Threats Outside of Warzone: Clashing Narratives, Foreign Information Manipulation & Influence, and Post-Truth
The illegal Russian war of aggression against Ukraine (IRWAAU) produced a number of valuable lessons in how terrorism might evolve in the Cognitive Domain, and possible associated kinetic and non-kinetic […]
Europe’s Strategic Imperative: Advancing Sustainability for Global Stability
Europe’s long-term security depends not only on military strength, but also on global stability shaped by sustainable development and effective multilateralism. From the outset, Donald Trump’s second presidency has placed […]