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....
In the wake of the Arab League summit that took place in early November in Algiers – providing an opportunity for an energy-emboldened Algeria to assert its regional influence – this Brief examines why the organisation has often been criticised for its ineffectiveness, and how the EU and the Lea...
This brief examines how the rise to power of Narendra Modi as the head of the nationalist BJP has changed India’s politics and diplomacy, and analyses the implications for the EU’s efforts to pursue closer engagement with the country....
Despite the fact that Africa is well-positioned to become the world’s breadbasket, many African countries are plagued by food shortages. The final brief in the Imagine Africa series focuses on the issue of food security in Africa and examines what approaches and policies could be pursued to achi...
Two key factors can be identified as having shaped the EU’s positioning within the broader international engagement in Afghanistan. Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the first ever invocation of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, European engagement in Afghanistan was characterise...
With Covid-19-related travel restrictions curtailed or lifted in most African countries, the issue of population movement and migratory flows – both within Africa and towards other regions, including the Middle East and Europe – has returned to the forefront of policy debates in the continent. T...
As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its eighth month, this brief explores the impact of the war on the countries of the eastern neighbourhood, where it has had significant economic, demographic and geopolitical repercussions....