Coronavirus and Power: the impact on international politics
This will change everything . It is an understandable feeling. When people pass through an ordeal, they want to believe that when all is over there will be some compensation. […]
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 EU’s Just Transition: three challenges and how to overcome them
The EU’s ‘Just Transition Mechanism’ proposal has become highly contentious, bringing up issues of redistribution between countries. It faces three main challenges: overcoming a focus on national allocations; expanding the […]
Will a European Security Council bring strategic relevance?
How can the EU quickly and effectively take decisions on issues of international security? There’s only one workable option: bring the heads of government together in a European Union Security […]
Commentaries
How the indiscriminate virus reinforced our inequalities and the lessons we can draw from this when it is all over
The Corona pandemic is changing the way we live and function as a society for at least the coming weeks or months. While it is a virus that does not […]
Trump, the Middle East, and North Africa: just leave things to the proxies?
When Trump says that he wants NATO to take more responsibility in the Middle East, what he means is that he wants the European allies to do more. He is […]
Commentaries
What the Coronavirus will not change
Having now twice spoken to my laptop for an hour and a half, I am quite sure that there is one thing that the corona crisis will not change: when […]