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Briefs

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.

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    10June 2013
    Renewables: do they matter for foreign policy?
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    Although the politics of renewable energy has remained largely confined to national boundaries and has had few international ramifications to date, this may be about to change. If this is the case, what is and could be the role of renewables in European energy diplomacy?

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    10June 2013
    Feed the world? The challenges of global food security
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    The debate around food security is being driven by Malthusian fears fuelled by growing environmental pressures, slow agricultural growth and the projected population increases of the next decades. It is in this context that this brief identifies how the EU can assist in the establishment of a resilient and sustainable global agricultural system.

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    07June 2013
    Europe: spread (not lost) in space
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    Since the launch of its two ‘flagship programmes’ in the late 1990s, the EU has been increasingly involved in space activities. But despite the new competences as a result of the Lisbon Treaty, the temptation to compare EU space activities and policies with those of other spacefaring nations should be avoided, and its success in overcoming various hurdles seen as a considerable achievement.

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    03June 2013
    The usual surprise? Iran’s presidential elections
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    This brief explores the presidential campaign underway in Iran, examining the chosen candidates and the internal power struggles of a divided country and highlighting how the tight control of the electoral process is posing a serious challenge the regime’s own commitment to the notion of popular sovereignty.

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    22May 2013
    Fighting piracy in the Gulf of Guinea - offshore and onshore
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    Following a spectacular decline in the Gulf of Aden, incidents of armed robbery at sea and piracy are now on the rise in the Gulf of Guinea. Given the region's importance for the EU, are there lessons that can be learned and usefully transferred from Gulf to Gulf?

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    22April 2013
    The American sequester - and us
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    Budget cuts in the US are causing concerns not only because of their effect on security and defence spending, but also because of the particular way in which much of them are set to be administered. This brief argues that as a result of sequestration, the EU would do well to identify and take seriously its strategic interests and to invest in its own operational capabilities.

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    15April 2013
    Nuclear multilateralisation - and Europe’s role
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    Although considerable progress has been made regarding the implementation of multilateral nuclear approaches (MNAs) over the past few years, the drive appears to have already lost much momentum since its reinvigoration a decade ago. There is much potential in this realm for the EU to play a constructive role and for its internal diversity to become a foreign policy asset.

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    08April 2013
    Global commons: between cooperation and competition
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    Shared rules regarding the usage of - and access to - the global commons encourages their peaceful and cooperative use. With the rise of non-Western powers, questions must now be asked regarding the durability of the existing processes for managing the global commons. Are new processes required to address new threats and challenges, in particular in the realm of cyber security?

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    19March 2013
    La révolution tunisienne deux ans après – est-elle réversible ?
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    Deux ans après les événements qui ont conduit à la chute du régime de Ben Ali, la crise sociale et gouvernementale actuelle amène à poser la question de l’irréversibilité de la révolution tunisienne. Quelles étaient ses demandes ? Quelles réformes substantielles le gouvernement doit-il encore mettre en œuvre pour garantir une rupture définitive avec le passé ?

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    08March 2013
    L’Instrument de Stabilité – au service de l’approche globale de l’UE
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    Au cours des dernières années, si l’IdS a indéniablement gagné en importance, il demeure encore méconnu comparativement à la PSDC. Leur histoire est pourtant parallèle et leurs activités complémentaires, de façon à renforcer l’approche globale prônée par l’UE dans la Stratégie européenne de sécurité.

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