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.
External publications
Beijing has become more explicit in weaponising trade dependencies through export controls, particularly in critical minerals and rare earth elements (REEs). Europe now faces a structural dilemma: how to reduce […]
Why does Europe have no impact on the war in the Gulf? Nor even on the diplomatic efforts to settle the war? Europeans could have mounted a collective operation to […]
Commentaries
Belgium has long been recognised as a committed and experienced actor in European integration. Its federal structure, administrative expertise, and strong presence in Brussels have traditionally enabled the country to […]
Something is becoming impossible to ignore: wherever you look today – the skies above eastern Ukraine, the Persian Gulf, the plains of Burkina Faso – drones are reshaping the logic […]
External publications
The NPT Review Conference in May 2026 promises to be a battle between competing narratives about the evolution of the global nuclear order. This CSDS In-Depth Paper provides observers and […]
In August 2025, Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have never established diplomatic relations, initialled a peace agreement at the White House. It was the most significant step towards normalising relations since […]