Raiders of the lost art: strategy-making in Europe
Have Europeans lost the art of making grand strategy? In a reflection process initiated by Sweden, Poland, Italy and Spain, they are invited to rediscover it and draft a “European […]
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
Hot issues, cold shoulders, lukewarm partners: EU strategic partnerships and climate change
Few issues have climbed the international political agenda, from low to high politics, as climate change has done over the past two decades. It is now widely recognised at the […]
Partners in crisis: EU strategic partnerships and the global economic downturn
Many people anticipated that economic and political power would shift from the West to the East and the South in the coming decades. Likewise, deepening interdependence has been widely commented […]
External publications
The UK and European Defence: leading or leaving?
The UK, with France, initiated the European, today Common, Security and Defence Policy (ESDP/CSDP) in 1998–9. A strong consensus on the need to address capability shortfalls, which the UK accepted […]
External publications
China in the BRICS
This book chapter provides with an analysis and a wealth of data on the origins and emergence of the BRICS as a political club, with a specific attention on the […]
External publications
Permanent structured cooperation light: less formal, not less necessary
The complex nature of the security challenges and the rampant global financial crisis has not left the realm of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) unaffected. Amidst these unstable conditions, […]