Commentaries
Russia Invades Ukraine: The Dangerous Weakness of a Military Superpower
What is an extra slice of Ukrainian territory to Russia? A war of aggression no longer fits in our European logic, but it does in that of President Putin. He […]
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
Commentaries
When things fall apart – France’s withdrawal from Mali
When things fall apart you usually take a step back to look at what went wrong and to learn from past mistakes. Or, as in the case with France in […]
Commentaries
What if the Helsinki spirit was revived by climate change?
In the context of the current Russia-West crisis, there are increasing calls for a new kind of agreement, which should somehow revive the spirit of the Helsinki Final Act of […]
Hybrid Warfare Is not Synonymous with Cyber: The Threat of Influence Operations
The recent cyber-attack on Ukraine’s governmental websites, widely attributed to Russia, has reinforced the widely held perception equating Hybrid Warfare with hostile cyber activities. This overlooks the broader and devastating […]
Is Putin Winning, or Is He Trying not to Lose?
Nobody is in doubt, if anybody ever was, that Russia remains a great power. That much the tense stand-off over Ukraine has demonstrated. Whether President Putin’s moves have earned Russia […]
External publications
The Commission proposal on reforming the Generalised Scheme of Tariff Preferences: analysis of human rights incentives and conditionalities
This study looks at the European Commission’s proposal for a new GSP Regulation from human rights and sustainable development perspectives. It focuses on proposed changes to the conditionality provisions with […]