Karen van Loon

Biography

Karen van Loon is an Associate Fellow in the European Affairs Programme at the Egmont Institute for International Relations and a Research Fellow at Clingendael's Security and Defence Programme, where she specializes in Arctic geopolitics and broader security and defence issues.

She is an experienced educator and capacity-building specialist. She is a member of the Advisory Board for the Young Women in Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Mentorship Programme of the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium.

Karen holds an MA in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Antwerp and both an MA and BA in Eastern-European Languages and Cultures from the University of Ghent. Her research interests focus on Arctic geopolitics, arms control, and nuclear non-proliferation.

Publications

• Looking towards the North: Belgium’s Role in the Arctic European Policy Briefs (9-01-2024)
• Arctic cooperation remains a conundrum Commentaries (16-05-2023)
• The Like-Minded, The Willing… and The Belgians: Arctic Scientific Cooperation after February 24 2022 External publications (27-03-2023)
• Excellence in Polar Research. How science is putting Belgium more firmly on the map in the Arctic. Commentaries (10-10-2022)
• Europe’s Energy and Resource Challenge. The Arctic Is Part of the Solution. European Policy Briefs (12-09-2022)