Commentaries
Big manoeuvres in eastern Europe
In this article, Sven Biscop looks at President Obama’s recently announced ‘European Reassurance Initiative’ and its implications for European defence.
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
The American way of partnership
The United States has forged formal bilateral ‘strategic partnerships’ and developed strategic dialogues with scores of partners around the globe. This paper examines the purpose and content of US ‘strategic […]
Building European defence: an architect and a bank
If a set of investors plan a grand apartment building in which they can each afford just one apartment, they need an architect to design a building that is both […]
Commentaries
Ukraine putinised: the greatest external challenge to the European Union since 1989
The EU tends to react urgently to the Ukrainian crisis, which is normal. However, this crisis is in many ways the most challenging since 1989. It thus requires a lot of analysis […]
Partners in crime? The EU, its strategic partners and international organised crime
Organised crime is a major security challenge. The EU has become an important actor in justice and home affairs at the European level, facilitating cooperation between member states. However, criminal […]
The European Union: a new security actor?
Security considerations were at the heart of the European project, but the European Union has started to develop fully-fledged security policies only in recent years. At this stage, the EU […]