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The 2025 Global Strategy PhD Prize Awarded

 

 

ESDC and Egmont Award the 2025 Global Strategy PhD Prize to Dr Elie Perot for the immediate relevance of his work to European strategy

The European Security and Defence College (ESDC) and the Egmont – Royal Institute for International Relations have the pleasure of announcing the award of the 2025 Global Strategy PhD Prize to Dr Elie Perot, for his dissertation on Europe in the Shadow of War: The Euro-Atlantic Security Architecture and the Return of Collective Defence, defended on 2 June 2025 at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, under the supervision of Prof. Dr Alexander Mattelaer.

As war once again casts its shadow over Europe, this dissertation examines the transformation of the Euro-Atlantic security architecture in response. It explores how Western allies are preparing to fight alongside each other, and how the renewed challenge of collective defence is addressed across multiple institutional layers: NATO, the EU, and bilateral mutual defence agreements. This dissertation thus sheds light on the most pressing security issue facing European policymakers today.

The jury unanimously lauded Dr Perot for his insight, for the readability of his work, and for the immediate relevance to European strategy.

The jury was co-chaired by Fergal O’Regan, Head of the ESDC, and Prof. Dr Sven Biscop, and further comprised Dr Jan Joel Andersson, Prof. Dr Foteini Asderaki, Inge Ceuppens, Prof. Dr Daniel Fiott, Dr Eva Gross, and Prof. Dr Luis Simón.