Publications

  • Can Europeans share a common security culture?
    27 July 2009

    European countries have long declared their ambition to turn the EU into a global player in security – in order to tackle common threats and strengthen their voice on the global stage.

  • Carl Bildt and the cost of speaking plainly
    Insight by Charles Grant
    21 July 2009

    Carl Bildt is better known throughout the world than most of his fellow EU foreign ministers – and many of the prime ministers, too.

  • Iran, elections, and nuclear weapons
    Insight by Tomas Valasek
    10 July 2009

    What the future holds for Iran's theocratic regime is hard to read. True, the government has ensured its own survival by suppressing last month's protests there with brutal force.

  • Russia: A tale of two crises
    Insight by Katinka Barysch
    03 July 2009

    Russia’s economy has been hit hard by a triple whammy of capital outflows, collapsing oil prices and falling global demand. In the first three months of the year, output was down by 10 per cent compared with a year earlier. The retail boom that had fuelled growth in recent years has turned into a slump. 

  • Medvedev and the new European security architecture
    Policy brief by Bobo Lo
    01 July 2009

    President Medvedev's call for a new European security architecture is Russia's most active diplomatic initiative in recent times. Yet it lacks substance.

  • Liberalism retreats in China
    Briefing note by Charles Grant
    01 July 2009

    The Communist Party is increasing its sway over the political system. Economic nationalism is on the rise, with foreign investors facing new obstacles. And Chinese foreign policy has become more assertive.

  • The Swedish EU presidency
    01 July 2009

    A painful recession in Europe, uncertain prospects for the Lisbon treaty, a looming gas crisis in Ukraine and a lame-duck Commission are some of the challenges that the Swedish EU presidency will have to deal with in the second half of 2009.

  • Intelligence, emergencies and foreign policy
    Essay by Hugo Brady
    01 July 2009

    Many European countries feel threatened by terrorist plots against civilians and infrastructure. European governments have strengthened their efforts to co-operate on counter-terrorism over the past decade.