. • Regional organisations have proliferated in Africa over the decades, with different organisations attempting to address similar issues in similar parts of the continent. • International donors have helped create this overlapping situation by funding new and existing African regional organisations without questioning the downsides of doing so. • In recent years, these organisations […]
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Crisis presidency: How Portuguese leadership can guide the EU into the post-covid era
. The upcoming Portuguese EU presidency should emphasise the need to build European sovereignty. The presidency should provide global leadership and shape the international order, especially in light of the fact that many Europeans have lost confidence in the transatlantic relationship and fear a world dominated by US-China competition. The presidency should handle […]
Read MoreLessons from Belarus: How the EU can support clean elections in Moldova and Georgia
The election fraud in Belarus in August 2020 sparked the biggest protests in the country’s history. Ultimately, the demonstrations may usher in a completely new political system and sense of national identity. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka may retain power by sacrificing national sovereignty to Russia, with massive implications for the security and well-being of all Belarus’s […]
Read MoreThe new China consensus: How Europe is growing wary of Beijing
The relationship between EU member states and China is undergoing a transformation that the coronavirus crisis has accelerated. While efforts to enhance trade and other economic links continue to play a major role in the relationship – especially due to the financial impact of the pandemic – countries across Europe are becoming increasingly sceptical of […]
Read MoreDisorder from Chaos: Why Europeans fail to promote stability in the Sahel
. Hopes were high when French President Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of the Sahel Alliance at a G5 meeting in Nouakchott, Mauritania in July 2017. The new alliance’s goal was for France and Germany, along with other international partners, to play a more effective role in improving stability in the Sahel by bringing development […]
Read MoreNeue Bündnisse, alte Gräben: Europäische Zusammenarbeit während der Coronakrise
Seit März 2020 wurde die europäische Zusammenarbeit – wie auch die Relevanz der EU-Institutionen – einer Reihe von Prüfungen unterzogen. Zunächst mussten sie die unmittelbare Krisenreaktion koordinieren, dann Hilfe für Mitgliedstaaten, die unverhältnismäßig stark vom Virus betroffen sind, bereitstellen und schließlich über eine finanzielle Lastenteilung zur Bewältigung der wirtschaftlichen Folgen von Covid-19 verhandeln. Aber war […]
Read MoreA return to Africa: Why North African states are looking south
European policymakers have generally looked at North Africa through a Mediterranean lens. But this vision of North Africa is outdated: North African countries are increasingly turning their attention towards the rest of their own continent. Europe needs to understand this trend as it shapes its relations with North Africa and with the continent as a […]
Read MoreHealth sovereignty: How to build a resilient European response to pandemics
The European Union has been a champion of the world of interconnections we live in – people, goods, information, and, of course, microbes flow across borders with ever-increasing speed and quantity. These flows create enormous benefits but, as the covid-19 pandemic demonstrates, they also create societal vulnerabilities and expose us to risk. States can limit […]
Read MoreReform from crisis: How Tunisia can use covid-19 as an opportunity
Tunisia’s recent presidential and parliamentary elections, held in September and October 2019, were major milestones in its democratisation process. But the rise of anti-party figures and radical movements reminded Tunisia’s political elites – and European onlookers – that deep socio-economic challenges continue to destabilise the country’s fragile political system. Against this backdrop, covid-19 has exacerbated […]
Read MoreReviving the revolutionaries: How Trump’s maximum pressure is shifting Iran’s domestic politics
Iran’s actions regularly capture global attention – but there remains too little understanding in the West of the country’s internal politics, including how to influence decision-makers in its complex political ecosystem. In Europe, governments may have recently toughened their stance – as France, the UK, and Germany jointly did only last Friday – but their […]
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