Publications

Despite the progress made since the presidential elections earlier this year, serious disputes remain over the status of the regions in northern Mali. With extremists beginning to take advantage of the situation, this alert explains why the country must break the current...

L’envoi de troupes françaises en République centrafricaine est une étape d’une approche qui rappelle celle gouvernant la gestion de la crise malienne. Mais les parallèles entre ces deux processus soulignent certaines difficultés, notamment les relations difficiles entre...

This alert assesses the state of play of politics in the Union’s eastern neighbourhood in the aftermath of the Vilnius Summit. How should the EU proceed with Ukraine following its dramatic refusal to initial an Association Agreement? And how can it ensure the other Eastern...

This brief explores the impact on US foreign policy of the so-called ‘shale revolution’. With an ever-decreasing dependence on foreign energy producers, is the US on course to become independent from world energy markets? What impact will this have on the (often politically...

Making use of all available resources is of paramount importance to mitigate the social and economic costs of humanitarian and natural disasters. This alert examines how information and communication technologies, coupled with crowd-sourcing – the practice of obtaining...

This brief analyses what impact the five BRICS countries are likely to have in global politics in the years to come, and what future trajectory the grouping might take. The BRICS ‘club’ may or may not last – in its present or another formation – but its rise is a wake-up call for...

Against the background of ongoing discussion about the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty’s solidarity clause and member states’ responsibilities in terms of mutual assistance, this brief provides an overview of the EU’s mechanisms for dealing with disasters.

As some of the BRICS countries – heralded at the turn of the millennium as the new drivers of the global economy – experience declining growth, this alert examines who might replace (or integrate) the BRICS as the motor of future dynamism in the world economy as well as in the...

This alert examines the priority reforms identified by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in order ensure that the US military remains ready to counter the full range of future threats. With smaller budgets forcing European governments to make difficult choices, are there lessons...

On the face of it, there is overwhelming support in Europe for a common foreign and defence policy. But is there agreement on what a 'European defence policy' might actually mean? Or do EU citizens only favour common action when it is 'common' on their own terms? To provide some...