Europe and the Arab Spring: four seasons in one day
The Arab Spring is happening in spite of the European Union, not thanks to it. That fact calls for a serious reappraisal of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) towards our […]
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
European defence in times of austerity: are budget cuts a threat or an opportunity?
European countries’ defence budgets are shrinking under the pressure of the spending reviews, in contrast with a global defence expenditure that is on the rise and the multiplication of common […]
The Start-up Fund – An elegant treaty mechanism for sustaining defence capabilities
When the European Council meets in December, it will face a range of decisions which will lay the foundations for Europe’s defence posture and role in the wider world for […]
Recalibrating CSDP-NATO relations: the real pivot
In an age of major power shifts, which we know from history always to be particularly dangerous, different scenarios are possible; the only promising one is that of more and […]
And what will Europe do? The European Council and military strategy
Important decisions on Europe’s military capabilities are expected from the December 2013 European Council. But why? What do Europeans actually want to do with their capabilities? The answer to that […]
Defense: and what will Europe do?
The debate about European defense tends to focus on the need to spend more and deploy more. One deceptively simple question is usually ignored: why? Americans seem to assume that […]