Commentaries
The US and China between dependence and rivalry
One should not be surprised at the tensions between China and the US. An emerging power will always engender suspicion on the part of the existing superpower.
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
The Counterterrorism Yearbook 2017: Europe
2016 proved to be a busy year for CT in Europe as the number of jihadi-related attacks increased and the nature of the threat evolved, with most plots involving ‘home […]
Commentaries
Two-Speed Europe: Yes, But
Yes to a two-speed Europe if that is the only way to deepen integration, but this does entail some risks. A Dutch version of this article was published on the […]
EU-China co-operation in global governance: going beyond the conceptual gap
This Egmont paper aims to identify ways of overcoming the deadlock that often characterises EU-China co-operation in multilateral institutions and processes due to their differing interpretations of global governance. The paper draws […]
Europe and the great powers: playing our Trump cards
On the eve of Donald Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping, we are all holding our breath. But should we rather not be proactive, using Europe’s diplomatic and economic power to […]
How the EU can save NATO
The European Union can save NATO. It really can. Trust me. (Photo credit: Pixabay)