Foreign policy & defence
Merkel after Paris
20 November 2015
Merkel's relatively open and liberal stance on refugees makes it easier for her to respond robustly to the attacks in France through security and foreign policy.
Terrorism in Paris: Aux armes, citoyens?
17 November 2015
The West should draw the right lessons from the Paris attacks. A military response to Daesh in Syria must be combined with better European intelligence co-operation.
EU foreign policy co-operation: A millstone or a multiplier for the UK?
12 October 2015
Submission to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee inquiry on the costs and benefits of EU membership for the UK's role in the world.
By participating actively in EU foreign policy co-operation, the UK can get 27 other countries to take co-ordinated actions aligned with British aims. It could...
By participating actively in EU foreign policy co-operation, the UK can get 27 other countries to take co-ordinated actions aligned with British aims. It could...
Beware of cheap oil!
07 October 2015
Europe’s economies welcome the collapse of oil prices. But serious foreign policy problems await if oil remains cheap.
The insoluble Syrian problem: Only wrong answers?
29 September 2015
No-one, including Putin, has a peace plan for Syria. The EU should stop pursuing unrealistic military and political aims and focus on helping the war’s victims.
Issue 104 - 2015
25 September 2015
- Jeremy Corbyn and the rise of groupthink, John Springford
- Eastern mess: The EU's partners need attention, Ian Bond
- Will the eurozone reap what it has sown?, Simon Tilford
Eastern mess: The EU's partners need attention
24 September 2015
Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine signed EU association agreements in 2014, but reforms are now stalling. The EU needs to push the three governments to do more.
The battle for reform in Kyiv
16 September 2015
The government in Kyiv has introduced some important reforms. But vested interests and corruption are thwarting its efforts to modernise the state and the economy.
The Undiplomats: Right-wing populists and their foreign policies
21 August 2015
The foreign policies of right-wing populist parties could damage European interests. Mainstream parties should address the problems populists highlight, without copying their policies.
Chasing the dragon: Russia's courtship of China
04 August 2015
Russia wants the West to fear a Moscow-Beijing axis. But China sees Russia as a route to Europe, not a destination in itself.
Issue 103 - 2015
27 July 2015
- How to keep Greece in, Christian Odendahl
- Could eurozone integration damage the single market?, Charles Grant
- Greek foreign policy: The next ruin?, Ian Bond, Rem Korteweg
Greek foreign policy: The next ruin?
27 July 2015
Grexit could create a foreign policy mess for Europe. Despite its Russophilia, Syriza's current foreign policy may be the best on offer.
The four horsemen circling the European Council summit
24 June 2015
Grexit, the Mediterranean crisis, Russia's aggression and the British question will continue to sow discord in Europe. Unless leaders can think European, not national.
Don't mention Beijing: The EU and Asia's maritime security
27 May 2015
With tensions rising in the South China Sea, Europe should intensify its dialogue with south-east Asia about maritime security.
After a deal: How to keep Iran honest?
22 May 2015
If a nuclear agreement with Iran is reached, the hard work begins: Europe should help contain Tehran’s regional influence while working with it too.
The Riga Summit: Enter, pursued by a bear
18 May 2015
The future of the EU’s Eastern Partnership is uncertain. Though it is under pressure from Russian hostility and EU apathy, it can and should be saved.
Two cheers for Ukraine
30 April 2015
Ukraine’s reforms are advancing, but the Minsk peace deal is hard to implement; the military situation is threatening; and the economy is tottering. The EU should help more.
Dead in the water: Fixing the EU’s failed approach to Mediterranean migrants
23 April 2015
The humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean forces the EU to act. It should reform its asylum policy and take action in Libya, not resort to half measures.
Issue 101 - 2015
08 April 2015
- Security in the age of austerity: You get what you pay for, Ian Bond
- The low-hanging fruit of European capital markets, Christian Odendahl
- A Marxist take on the 'Brexit' general election, John Springford
Security in the age of austerity: You get what you pay for
08 April 2015
Europe’s neighbourhood is too dangerous for decisions on defence budgets to be left to austerity-minded finance ministers. The UK should set a good example.