A European Defence Summit in May 2022: From Compass to Capabilities
By launching a war against Ukraine, right on the borders of the European Union, Russia has unleashed the strongest push to strengthen Europe’s defence since the end of the Cold […]
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
The Arctic, a new front for great power conflict?
Since 2014, public debate in Europe has focused almost exclusively on what Russia would do on its western flank and how it would manifest its vexation over NATO enlargement. On […]
Commentaries
From Russia With Love – Brussels At The Center Of Foreign Intelligence Activities
The time has come for Belgium to significantly strengthen its counterintelligence capabilities, as the Russian war against Ukraine will challenge European security in several ways. As host of the European […]
When Do Individuals Radicalize?
For more than a century now, observers have been trying to understand why and how individuals become terrorists. Every time the international community was confronted with a significant wave of […]
Mobilizing Against Russia? Some Reflections on the Security Deadlock Called Ukraine
No event exists beyond the media. This is also the case with the current Russian-Ukraine war. Daily, we are flooded with analyses and opinions about Putin’s military threat in the […]
A Brussels Declaration for an “Ever Closer Union”
What is valuable, is vulnerable. So it is for peace, democracy, and the ability to lead the good life. They are never permanently gained, but remain a permanent aspiration. Throughout […]