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 […]
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
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 […]
External publications
The state of defence in Europe: dependence, deterrence and deployment
In this article, published in Global Affairs, the new journal of the European International Studies Association (which he co-edits), Sven Biscop proposes ideas on Europe’s military level of ambition and […]
Commentaries
The EU’s strategic partnership agreements: balancing geo-economics and geopolitics
The recent annual EU-Japan summit (29 May) confirmed progress in the parallel negotiations over a free trade and a political agreement. It also confirmed the EU’s willingness to deepen and […]
Commentaries
Shangri La Dialogue 2015: Europe was there
The EU took a (generally) pragmatic approach to relations with Asia at the recent high-level security conference in Singapore.
Hybrid Hysteria
Is “hybrid” about to replace “comprehensive” as the favourite container notion of the Brussels foreign policy community? They might not be so different, in fact. Both a hybrid and a […]