Commentaries
No Fast Track to a Stable Rules-based International Order
The third EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Brussels on 2 February 2024 confirmed that EU cooperation with the Indo-Pacific region is alive and well. *****
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
External publications
China in the Middle East: Consequences for Europe
After being disappointed in the failure of the Oslo Accords between the Palestinians and Israelis to achieve a lasting peace, and after being disappointed in the outcomes of the Arab […]
External publications
The 2024 Taiwanese General Elections: fierce moderate Lai prevails while fluid kingmaker Ko rises
The polls have closed, and Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has won the Taiwanese presidency, beating Hou Yu-ih of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Ko Wen-je […]
External publications
Xi-curity: How Economic Security Ideas shape China’s Economic Strategies
In the run-up to the December EU-China summit in Beijing, tension loomed over issues like the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation in China’s electric vehicle sector, the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), […]
Commentaries
The EU and the Red Sea: Now This Is Geopolitics
The EU is preparing to launch a maritime operation to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthis from Yemen. A welcome and necessary decision; and […]
China and Geopolitics as Ontology
Human beings are storytellers; stories form the cultural framework that gives sense to their behavior and existence. Nations, likewise, “are guided to act in certain ways, and not others, on […]