Sophia Besch

Sophia Besch

Senior research fellow
Areas of expertise 

EU Common Security and Defence Policy, European defence industry integration, NATO, German security and defence policy

Twitter 

NATO's cyber pledge

E!Sharp
21 November 2018
NATO’s primary and most urgent cyber task is the protection its own communications systems and networks. But the alliance also offers training opportunities and tried to make information sharing between allies easier, in order to help capitals to protect their sytems and ‘critical’ networks from attacks.

CER podcast: One year since Macron's Sorbonne speech

07 November 2018
Sophia Besch asks Leonard Schuette what progress has been made on Macron's reform agenda one year on, and they discuss the impact of Merkel's planned departure.

Angela Merkel will not get to pass the crown to her preferred successor without a fight

The Telegraph
29 October 2018
German Chancellor Merkel announced today that she would not run again for the leadership of her conservative CDU/CSU party. The end of Merkel’s chancellorship is in sight.

CER podcast: Instability in Libya and a divided EU

10 October 2018
Sophia Besch asks Luigi Scazzieri about the latest escalation of the conflict in Libya, and they discuss the EU's fragmented policy.

CER podcast: Another referendum?

12 September 2018
Sophia Besch asks Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska and Beth Oppenheim about the prospects for another Brexit referendum.

Brexit and defence negotiations

Atlantic Community
10 September 2018
In the enthusiasm about the EU’s numerous new defence initiatives in Germany, a discussion of the consequences of Britain’s withdrawal from the union is often curiously absent.

CER podcast: What is the cost of Brexit?

01 August 2018
The UK economy is around 2 per cent smaller as a result of the vote to leave the EU. John Springford speaks to Sophia Besch about his analysis, his modelling method and the implications of the result.

Merkel and Salvini's migration crisis: Much ado about nothing?

E!Sharp
23 July 2018
The number of people arriving in Europe is much lower in 2018 than in previous years. Yet, at the European Council on June 28th-29th, EU leaders had to grapple with Germany and Italy’s twin political crises over migration and asylum policy.

Brussels sprouts: Sophia Besch talks German politics, defence, and US-German relations

23 July 2018
Sophia Besch of the Centre for European Reform joins Jim Townsend to discuss the shifting internal dynamics in Germany and what they mean for US-German relations, defence spending, and how President Trump is changing things.

CER event podcast: CER/KAS Conference on 'Plugging in the British: Completing the circuit'

11 July 2018
Three panels of experts gathered at the CER/KAS conference, ‘Plugging in the British: Completing the Circuit’ at the Royal United Services Institute.