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What I Heard In Munich: Goodbye America – Hello Europe!
A few weeks ago, on February 13-16 2025, the Chair of the ISDP Board Dr. Anna Wieslander, once again participated in the Munich Security Conference (MSC). She writes that in the past weeks, European states have had intense discussions on how to stand more on their own feet in defense and the need to do it quickly. If it is goodbye America, it might also be hello United States of Europe. Put differently, the much-debated European pillar in NATO could ultimately become a NATO pillar in the European Union, with countries outside of the EU such as the UK, Canada, Norway, and even Turkey connecting to European defense structures. Her reflections from those turbulent days and discussions at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich are here.
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Sweden and China: The Use of History and Mismatched Expectations
Sweden was not the first country in the West that recognized the People’s Republic of China, but it became the first in the West to establish formal diplomatic relations in 1950 because China picked it ahead of others to do so. This history has since been mutually emphasized on both sides, for different reasons. This paper by Agust Börjesson examines the history of how Sweden established diplomatic relations with the PRC, outlining the historical context in which diplomatic relations were established and what it meant for the two countries at the time. The paper further examines how the history of diplomatic relations has been used by the two countries and the evolution of their mutual (mis) perceptions. Read and download this Asia paper here.
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‘First Tier’: China’s Strategic Community on India-U.S. Ties
B. R. Deepak writes on China's strategic perception of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recently concluded visit to the United States. He writes that China’s strategic community has deemed the visit a “First Tier” (第一梯队) event among foreign leaders’ visits to the U.S. India’s presence alongside U.S. allies like Israel and Japan in the “first tier” sends significant signals regarding strategic priorities, defense partnerships, and Indo-Pacific focus, according to an article in Liberation Daily featuring perspectives from scholars like Zhang Jiadong, Hu Shisheng, and Lin Minwang. Prof. Zhang opines that Modi’s U.S. visit “highlights the U.S. prioritization of its alliance and partnership framework under 'Trump 2.0,' with India surpassing Europe in importance, writes Deepak. Read this piece here.
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PRC Mining in Tibet – a European Perspective
Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy writes that given the enormous geostrategic and environmental importance of the Tibetan Plateau, what the People’s Republic of China (PRC) does with Tibet’s waters and its minerals does not concern the PRC only. It concerns the entire Himalayan region and their people, their security, and ecological interests. Beyond the region, Ferenczy argues, China’s role in the global race for critical raw materials (CRM) cannot be overstated. It is already leading in the race and needs Tibet’s rich resources to keep its lead. Going forward, Beijing is likely to expand mining activities on the Plateau, displacing and disempowering Tibetans, with far-reaching regional and global implications. In contrast with the PRC, the European Union (EU) is just catching up in the CRM race. Due to its internal fragmentation, the EU has failed to raise its concerns regarding PRC policies in Tibet, including its violations of human rights standards, writes Ferenczy. To understand the implications of PRC mining operations, it is important to assess these through the lens of China’s role in the race for CRM. It is also imperative to address China’s narrative-shaping efforts concerning Tibet and its mining activities versus the reality on the ground, writes Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy. Download and read this issue brief here.
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Fostering Order In The Indo-Pacific: What the EU Can Learn From and Do With Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam
Order in the Indo-Pacific is characterized by forces that simultaneously sustain, strengthen, erode, expand, and reform it. The predominant force is the reemergence of Asia at large as an economic, (geo)political, and technological force, particularly China, India, ASEAN, and actors in the Islamic world. As power balances shift in favor of Asia, and in particular China, the Indo-Pacific is in an ordering dynamic in which new institutions are founded, rules and principles such as sovereignty and non-interference are simultaneously violated and emphasized, and new principles and norms regarding cooperation and security are promoted. Amidst this backdrop, the interpretation of order fostering in the Indo-Pacific is critical. This Special Report is a research outcome of a year-long study sponsored by Mercator Stiftung on five powers- Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam- in the Indo-Pacific to examine how the EU must look at the region. In other words, this report answers three questions in particular: 1) What are the five powers’ interpretations of and preferences for order in the Indo-Pacific? 2) What are these five powers’ views on EU (members) strategies and their preferences for the EU to support order in the Indo-Pacific? 3) Why and how can the EU best position its policies more closely to those of the five powers? Read and download this special paper authored by Richard Ghiasy, Julie Yu-Wen Chen, and Jagannath Panda.
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What I Heard In Munich: Goodbye America – Hello Europe!
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Sweden and China: The Use of History and Mismatched Expectations
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‘First Tier’: China’s Strategic Community on India-U.S. Ties
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PRC Mining in Tibet – a European Perspective
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Fostering Order In The Indo-Pacific: What the EU Can Learn From and Do With Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam
Latest Publications
Sweden and China: The Use of History and Mismatched Expectations
Sweden was not the first country in the West that recognized the People’s Republic of China, but it became the first in the West to establish formal diplomatic relations in […]
PRC Mining in Tibet – a European Perspective
Given the enormous geostrategic and environmental importance of the Tibetan Plateau, what the People’s Republic of China (PRC) does with Tibet’s waters and its minerals does not concern the PRC […]
Fostering Order In The Indo-Pacific: What the EU Can Learn From and Do With Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam
Executive Summary One of the most critical challenges of this century is fostering order in the Indo-Pacific. (Dis)order in this space will significantly affect the international order. Not only […]
Books
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Arabs, Turks and Persians: Geopolitics and Ideology in the Greater Middle East
For decades, the Greater Middle East has been a leading challenge to American foreign policy. This vast region – ranging from North Africa in the west to Afghanistan in the […]
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The US and EU, and the Emerging Supply Chain Network: Politics, Prospects, and Allies
The Global Supply Chains have evolved from simply logistical achievements to being the bedrock of the global economy. Driven by technological advances and geopolitical shifts, this transformation underscores the critical […]
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IN DEFENSE OF THE LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL ORDER
In recent years, the geopolitical fight for global economic, diplomatic, and institutional control has acutely intensified, accentuating the crisis in the existing post-World War II Liberal International Order (LIO), championed […]
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Quad Plus and Indo-Pacific: The Changing Profile of International Relations
This book explores how the Quad Plus mechanism is set to reshape the global multilateral economic and security co-operations between Quad partner countries and the rest of the world. With […]