More Integration, Less Autonomy: The EU in Europe’s New Order
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has not just shattered what was left of Europe’s post-Cold War order. It has also defined the broad contours of Europe’s future order and consequently of the kind of peace such an order will be able to sustain. An armed peace, again The war has no foregone conclusion. It may result […]
A Joined-Up Union, a Stronger Europe. A Conceptual Framework to Investigate EU Foreign and Security Policy in a Complex and Contested World
Fractious domestic debates, the fragmentation of regional politics and growing interstate competition all affect the capacity of the EU to forge a joined-up and sustainable foreign and security policy (EUFSP) in crises and conflicts. The problem is amplified by EUFSP governance structures, which have evolved irregularly, with a multiplicity of actors resorting to an increasingly […]
Laying the Groundwork for Peace in a Fragmented Libya
Libya is fragmented, and this fragmentation raises questions about legitimacy for whoever emerges as the winner of the presidential elections, now scheduled for early 2022. Legitimacy is one of the underlying challenges that engenders post-election conflict in many African societies. To avoid post-election conflict in Libya, stakeholders like the European Union, by way of anticipation, […]
Inventory of EUFSP-related Public and Elite Opinion Surveys
This study offers an inventory of elite and public opinion surveys on EU foreign and security policy (EUFSP). It first provides an analytical overview of the most relevant literature and data on the topic while exploring the theme of foreign and security policy from the angle of political elites’ attitudes and beliefs. In the second […]
Brief/ Not Yet Time for Diplomacy. Lessons from Italy’s Ill-Conceived Peace Plan for Ukraine by Riccardo Alcaro and Nona Mikhelidze
In this new JOINT Brief, Riccardo Alcaro (JOINT Coordinator) and Nona Mikhelidze (IAI Senior Fellow) analyze Italy’s stillborn peace plan for Ukraine, arguing that it holds a lesson for EU: time is not yet ripe for diplomacy with Russia. Here’s the main findings:1. In its pursuit for a quick end to hostilities, the peace plan anticipated arguments […]
The EU Strategic Compass: A Blueprint for a European Defensive and Securitisation Policy
On 21 March 2022, the Council of the European Union released the Strategic Compass for Security and Defence.[1] The document provides a thorough assessment of international affairs and is meant to guide the development of the EU security and defence agenda for the next decade. The Strategic Compass has been hailed as a framework for […]
Brief/The War in Ukraine and Studying the EU as a Security Actor by Hylke Dijkstra
In this new JOINT Brief, Hylke Dijkstra, Associate Professor at Maastricht University and leader of JOINT WP2, reflects on what the war in Ukraine means for the study of the EU as a security actor.
The War in Ukraine and Studying the EU as a Security Actor
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the most serious conflict on the European continent since the Balkan wars of the 1990s, if not since World War II. The amount of military and civilian casualties, displaced persons and material destruction after two months of war is astonishing. Unlike the Balkan wars, the direct involvement […]
Brief/Russia–Ukraine Talks and the Indispensable Role of the US and Europe by Riccardo Alcaro
In this new JOINT Brief, Riccardo Alcaro analyses the role of the EU and the US in the Russia-Ukraine talks, underlining that US and EU’s goals should now be: to end the war, to ensure Ukraine’s security and to stabilise the antagonism with Russia.
Russia–Ukraine Talks and the Indispensable Role of the US and Europe
Vladimir Putin’s imperialist war of conquest in Ukraine is about to enter its fifth week. Russia’s failure to shock and awe Ukraine’s government and armed forces into submission through a poorly executed Blitzkrieg has morphed into a slow and ever more brutal three-front campaign. While Russian forces struggle to make strides in the north and […]
The EU and the Ukraine War: Making Sense of the Rise of a “Geopolitical” Union
By ordering Russian armed forces into Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has arguably made the greatest blunder of his twenty-two-year long rule. The Russian president seems to have underestimated not just Ukraine’s capacity to resist the invasion, but also the resolve of the United States and its partners to oppose it.[1] If that is indeed the […]
Multi-Layered Actions? Sustaining Partnerships in the EU Integrated Approach to Conflicts and Crises
The European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy can be conceptualised as “multi-layered” action. Multi-layeredness refers to two interrelated ways of intervening in crises abroad, which the EU has articulated in the so-called Integrated Approach to crises and conflicts. First is the need for the EU and its member states to partner with diverse stakeholders acting […]