While transport connectivity in Africa is of crucial importance for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, it has the potential to either advance or hinder peacebuilding and stabilisation efforts in the continent. In an institutional void, connectivity risks becoming a dr...
Under the umbrella of the recently unveiled ‘Global Security Initiative’ (GSI) China is launching a series of international initiatives which include proposals to support dialogue between third parties, the revival of the country’s forum diplomacy, more Chinese funding to several multilateral in...
After many years of underinvestment in defence, EU Member States are rearming, but much criticism has been levelled at the slow pace. Many argue that more European cooperation on defence acquisition and arms procurement would not only make buying arms faster and cheaper, but also strengthen the ...
The Taliban takeover in August 2021 has had destabilising repercussions beyond the borders of Afghanistan, altering regional dynamics and impacting the Taliban’s own external relationships with bordering countries. Security risks are posed not only by the Taliban itself but also by Islamist terr...
Despite concerns about growing Chinese and Indian influence in the Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia), the footprint of the two Asian powers in the region remains limited. The EU has a deep and multifaceted relationship with the three Maghreb nations, while China’s and India’s dealings with ...
European defence cooperation is about NATO and the EU, but also the EU and its partners; and the array of multilateral and bilateral defence cooperation agreements among EU Member States and beyond. But is this intricate architecture a mishmash of duplications and inefficiencies, or a web of ste...
The effective countering of hybrid threats is a common concern for the EU and NATO, including in the Western Balkans. While the EU’s and NATO’s mandates and toolkits differ, their presence and intervention in the region is complementary and rooted in close cooperation. The Western Balkans are in...
As a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ankara now perceives the Black Sea region as a much less stable and predictable environment. Türkiye has voted alongside the West in the UN resolutions condemning Russia’s actions, and provided Ukraine with arms, but refrained from joining ...
The EU sanctions package imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 combines two different rationales: the traditional logic of sapping economic vitality and putting pressure on state coffers, and a more selective logic targeting the country’s elites. In terms of the ec...
Lying at the crossroads of central and south Asia, Afghanistan constitutes a key transit hub. This brief explores how tapping into regional trade, energy and transport connectivity around the country can yield significant benefits for the broader region....