External publications
European strategy
At the invitation of the Aenauer Foundation, Sven Biscop spoke on European strategy at a conference at the Australian National University, the proceedings of which are summarized in this briefing […]
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
From survival to revival: The Riga Summit 2015 and the revised ENP
With the European Parliament’s July report on the revision of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) calling on the Commission to ‘go back to basics’, this article argues that such a […]
Commentaries
BRICS: An alternative order in construction (Summit takeaways)
The leaders of the emerging world met last week in Ufa, Russia, on the occasion of the BRICS and SCO summits. This short comment highlight the main takeaways from these meetings […]
External publications
Partnerships for effective multilateralism? Assessing the compatibility between EU bilateralism, (inter-)regionalism and multilateralism
This article investigates the notion of ‘lateralisms’ and how various modes of engagement (namely bilateralism, regionalism and multilateralism) relate to one another. It begins with a careful analysis of the […]
Putin in Africa
This Africa Policy Brief analyses why Russia’s renewed Africa policy is an extension of its political ambition to build strategic control over energy networks. African leaders insist that dealing with […]
Commentaries
A 21st century Waterloo? Lessons and parallels between now and then
200 years ago, Napoleon’s dreams of a new European order dominated by France died on the battlefield, in Waterloo. As we commemorate the anniversary of this epic battle, we can […]