Raising awareness of both existing and emerging foreign and security policy challenges facing the European Union, EUISS Briefs provide key information in a concise, focused format.
Little effort has been made so far to acquire a comprehensive understanding of transnational organised crime, its political economy and its ambivalent, non-linear relationship with political violence and system stability. This Brief takes a theoretical approach to explain the...
Upon taking office, President Trump signed an executive order formally ordering the withdrawal of the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This Brief examines the implications of Trump’s protectionist trade policies: the opportunities for third countries, as well the...
To step up the fight against terrorism, the EU is looking to forge closer ties with strategic countries in its Southern Neighbourhood. The Union’s initiatives to set up counter-terrorism dialogues in the region have, however, been met with a hesitant response. How can the EU...
The recent EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy (EUGS) introduced the idea of an ‘integrated approach to conflicts and crises’. This Brief examines the concept of an ‘Integrated approach’, and explains how it differs from the EU’s ‘Comprehensive Approach’.
Four years after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the ‘New Silk Road’ initiative in 2013, the main thrust of the infrastructure projects has been in Asia. However, the Western Balkans is also becoming increasingly involved in related discussions and projects on its western...
China’s endeavour to establish new economic corridors in the region covered by the block’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) policy poses both opportunities and challenges. What are the best policy solutions to achieve synergy between European and Chinese projects in the region?
In a marked shift from previous policies, many advanced economies are creating labour market integration initiatives for refugees. This Brief argues that although this might seem a shortcut to a more progressive strategy, it risks undermining the integrity of refugee policy and...
The European Union ended 2016 having agreed to a number of fresh initiatives designed to articulate (and act on) a new level of ambition for security and defence. This Brief assesses Permanent Structured Cooperation (PeSCo) as a potential game changer in the way EU member states...
Russia’s recent actions in eastern Europe and significant military build-up along its Western border and in the enclave of Kaliningrad has rattled many nerves. This Brief explores how, as a consequence, all the countries in the Nordic-Baltic region are now rearming.
The number of popular protests in Africa has increased significantly since the mid-2000s, reaching its peak in recent years. To what extent can this surge challenge sitting governments or even be the harbinger of broader social and political change on the continent?
