Tag: European Security

a big crowd is waving a european flag and

The Day After Tomorrow: The Emerging Political Disaster on the EU’s Eastern Borders

Written on 27. May 2025. Posted in English.

The European Union’s efforts to become a global power and to take the responsibility for its direct neighborhood may face a significant challenge. While news headlines remain fixed on Trump’s foreign policy, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the risks of global crisis, the region of Central and Eastern Europe is slipping into a spiral of political crisis. Between fragmented and polarized parliaments and fragile governmental coalitions, the EU’s borderlands are becoming political minefields. If their respective problems remain unchecked, the crises may impact the EU, paralyze governance, empower ‘sovereigntists’, and destabilize the EU from within. The cases of Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Poland, where systemic instability is the “new normal”, shed the light on the prospects that the whole EU may face in the very near future.

Sweden’s Accession to NATO: What Is behind the Decision?

Written on 17. October 2024. Posted in English, PRIF Spotlight.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has echoed in Northern Europe and in the Arctic, where Russia is one of the most influential actors. The region’s security landscape has been significantly transformed after Finland and Sweden, two countries that had previously preferred cooperation with NATO over full membership, joined the Alliance. Because Finland shares a common land border with Russia, its decision was met internationally with reserved understanding. Sweden, however, is in a comparatively unthreatened region, thus for actors outside Northern Europe it was an unexpected move. So, was Stockholm’s decision really surprising? Why did it happen, and what are the potential consequences?

Debating Foreign Interference in a Multipolar World: Is the EU Becoming Illiberal?

Written on 24. August 2023. Posted in English, Regime Competition in a Fragmented World.

The ways in which foreign interference by China, Russia and others are currently discussed in Brussels indicate that the EU is considering moving away from liberal principles in the area of international civil society support and the foreign funding of NGOs in particular. Based on a co-authored comment in the Heidelberg Journal of International Law, this blog post argues that it is helpful to read the current EU debate on foreign interference in the light of the ongoing, conflict-ridden transformation of the global order.

Responding to Foreign Interference in the EU: Beware of Unintended Consequences

Written on 19. October 2022. Posted in English.

The EU’s emerging response to foreign interference, as it is currently debated in the EU Parliament, contains striking similarities to arguments put forth by some governments around the world seeking to justify harsh restrictions on foreign funding and “foreign agents.” This risks producing serious ramifications for civic spaces and international civil society support—both within and beyond the EU.

Putin’s Mobilisation, Annexation and Nuclear Threats: Last-Ditch Effort or More of the Same?

Written on 22. September 2022. Posted in English, Russia-Ukraine War.

Just as leaders from across the world gathered in New York to address challenges to global peace and stability, the Russian president Putin declared mobilisation in Russia for the third time in its history. This step, which had formerly was ruled out by Russian officials, indicates that the Kremlin does not have any viable options but to escalate. Even though Putin still prefers to call the war a “special military operation”, he has virtually introduced martial laws across the entire spectrum of Russian economy and society, doubling down on the only gamble that he thinks can still pay off.

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