• Briefing note by Tomas Valasek, 15 August 2008

    The war in Georgia divided the European Union instead of uniting it. Some member-states condemned Russia and gave (non-military) aid to the Georgian government; others accused Tbilisi of provoking the war.

  • Opinion piece by Tomas Valasek
    The Guardian, 08 August 2008

    This week, Georgia made a bold gamble: it moved forces into South Ossetia; a province of Georgia that broke free in the early 1990s, in an attempt to re-assert its authority over parts or all of it.

  • Essay by Daniel Keohane, Tomas Valasek, 02 June 2008

    Demand for military forces is growing. And the Europeans increasingly turn to the EU when in need of troops for peacekeeping or for delivering humanitarian aid. But will the EU be able to keep up with the demand?

  • Opinion piece by Bobo Lo
    Open democracy, 20 May 2008

    The China threat looms large in the Russian imagination, but is not justified by the facts suggests Bobo Lo, writing for openDemocracy's new collaboration on Russia and the world.

  • Policy brief by Tomas Valasek, 12 May 2008

    France and the UK are close to an agreement that would dramatically improve relations EU and NATO. The two institutions currently make poor partners. Besides Franco-disagreements, Turkish squabbles with the EU also impede EU-NATO co-operation.

  • Working paper by Clara Marina O'Donnell, 04 April 2008

    The US has embarked on a new attempt to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict, backed by wide international support. But the situation on the ground between Israel and the Palestinians is so bad that peace looks out of reach for now.

  • Opinion piece by Charles Grant
    Financial Times, 24 March 2008

    Gordon Brown will welcome Nicolas Sarkozy to London on March 27. Almost 10 years ago, their predecessors as British prime minister and French president, Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac, launched the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) at St Malo. At this week's Franco-British summit, defence co-operation will once again be on the agenda.

  • Bulletin article by Charles Grant, 01 February 2008

    For the rest of Europe, the worst thing about Poland’s Law and Justice government, led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, was its foreign policy. His approach towards Russia, Germany and (sometimes) the EU – supported by his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski – was confrontational.