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 […]
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
After the crisis: some thoughts on a global EU – or how to turn a crisis into regeneration
Good ideas sometimes spring out of crises. The European Union itself was ‘invented’ from a crisis, conceived in the rubble of the Second World War. It is less frequently recalled […]
External publications
Q&A on EU-China relations
Discussion between Thomas Renard and CASS senior researcher Jiang Shixue on the future of the EU-China strategic partnership. See the publication here. (Photo credit: EEAS, Flickr)
Think global – act European. Thinking strategically about the EU’s external action
Dir. by Elvire Fabry, Senior Research Fellow, Notre Europe – Jacques Delors Institute. – full version – synthesis, April 2013. (Photo credit: European Parliament, Flickr)
The Future of the Benelux Defence Cooperation
Report of the seminar on Benelux Defence Cooperation, May 2013. This report is based on input for a seminar on Benelux Defence Cooperation which took place on 9 April 2013 […]
A European global security strategy: offering seven-league boots to become a global actor
In mid-2012 the Foreign Ministers of Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden took the initiative to launch the debate on a “European Global Strategy” and invited think tanks to set up […]