Commentaries
The Capitol and the Reichstag
When a sitting president refuses to accept the outcome of elections and incites his supporters to storm the parliament that is about to confirm his successor, that is a coup […]
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
EU-China: Drop the Masks, Back to Real Diplomacy
Diplomacy in 2020 was mostly about shifting the blame and creating distraction. China’s “mask diplomacy” sought to portray the People’s Republic as benign and effective. The world and, more importantly, […]
Russian Grand Strategy and how to handle it
In many Western chancelleries, there still is a lot of hesitation and bewilderment on how to deal with Russia. A first step in defining a coherent policy vis-a-vis Russia, is […]
Biden’s World? Views from the United States, China, Russia and the European Union
The COVID-19 pandemic prevented the annual joint seminars that since a few years the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Egmont – Royal Institute for […]
Belgium should not change strategy on her contribution to NATO’s nuclear role sharing
In this policy brief, the author focusses on NATO’s nuclear dimension. He highlights key challenges in the European security environment and explains essential characteristics of NATO’s deterrence and collective defence, […]
External publications
A logic of its own: the external presence in the Sahel
The current instability in the Sahel has attracted a heavy international security presence to the region which has taken on a logic of its own. Yet there is a need […]