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 […]
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
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 […]
Commentaries
Beyond the Frontline Roar: Understanding Russia’s Societal Whispers
Last December, we published a paper highlighting that, even for Russia, time is not unlimited in the war in Ukraine. Beyond the facade of regained confidence and the retaking of […]
External publications
What Future European Defence and Technological Industrial Basis (EDTIB) Do We Want/Need? The Belgian case
Belgium pursues a deeply integrated European defence technological industrial base that can produce and sustain the full spectrum of conventional military capabilities at scale. This next step in European integration […]
Looking towards the North: Belgium’s Role in the Arctic
The Arctic region has re-emerged as an area of geostrategic importance and is attracting increasing attention from Belgium. Accelerating climate change has altered living conditions in the region. The prospect […]
Commentaries
Time and again, Europe experiences how China uses its Economic Power for Geopolitical Purposes
In Dubai, Europe proudly presented itself as the leading ambassador of the climate. Its objectives are globally among the most decisive and ambitious. Europe’s performance at the COP28, however, conceals […]