Setting a standard for stakeholdership. Industry contribution to a strengthened biological and toxin weapons convention
(Photo credit: US Mission Geneva, Flickr)
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
High politics in the ‘Grand Area’ – Can Europeans have global impact in a multipolar age?
Can Europeans have global impact in a multipolar age?’. This snapshot examines the rise of ‘strategic partnerships’, the ‘Grand Area’ and the connexion between the two. It argues that through […]
Belgian defence policy: the fight goes on
The Coalition Agreement of the Di Rupo government comes at a moment when the international context can help overcome the dilemmas of Belgian defence policy: transformation
Afghanistan’s future: foreign and local solutions for a fought-over country
In this policy brief, Alain Hanssen looks at Afghanistan’s future through different national and international lenses. (Photo credit: EU EEAS, Flickr)
External publications
CSDP: the strategic perspective
Sven Biscop and Per M. Norheim-Martinsen contributed a chapter to a major new academic publication on CSDP, Explaining the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy. Theory in action (Palgrave), Xymena […]
Obama takes on the LRA. Why Washington sent troops to Central Africa
Two events underlie the renewed interest. First, in October, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that he would be sending “combat-equipped troops” on a kill-or-capture mission to take out Kony in […]