Publications

EU-India ties have often looked promising on paper yet fallen short in practice – but a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape is forcing both sides to rethink what the partnership is really for. With a major summit and a potential trade breakthrough on the horizon, will this moment produce a genuine reset, or another cycle of high expectations and limited delivery?

In the wake of a noteworthy week in Davos, one repercussion is clear. With three years left in Emperor Donald’s reign, the thought that the rules-based order might be salvageable ‘on the other side’ no longer enjoys support in Europe. Mark Carney may have charted a new strategic direction - but for now, Mark Rutte's flattery and diplomacy remain essential survival skills.

It has become blatantly obvious that Donald Trump’s intention to acquire Greenland is no laughing matter. Europe must get serious: we have no other option than to calmly, rapidly and independently plan and conduct security and military support – in accordance with Denmark and Greenland’s wishes – to avert a major crisis.

The European Council’s decision to postpone ratification of the EU–Mercosur Partnership Agreement by one month may seem inconsequential, considering its negotiation has now spanned more than a quarter of a century. Yet the stakes could not be higher, with any further delay likely to sink the historic deal – and further undermine the rules-based international order in the process.

The US National Security Strategy has dealt two harsh blows to Europe: a strategic abandonment and a civilizational insult. Yet among EU policymakers there is no sign of an understanding of the challenge, let alone a counterstrategy. Europe must begin by liberating itself from the narrative shackles of a transatlantic order which died this year – and claim our place in the multipolar world as a polity worth defending.

As the year draws to a close, our team have compiled their personal literary highlights from the past twelve months for your consideration – a bookshelf replete with bold ideas, human stories and the complexities which erupt at the intersection of the two. Season's greetings from BIG!

For the European Union, sanctions have been the go-to coercive policy in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and their reach has now extended to Central Asia and the Caucasus, where exports to Russia have been pushed into indirect channels via third countries and banking systems. Yet these sanctions loopholes make use of the same trade corridors which increasingly form a part of Europe's strategic interests in the region.

Myanmar is a nation trapped between democratic aspirations, ethnic rebel forces controlling vast territories and a military junta determined to cling to power. In the midst of turmoil, its citizens search for meaning and a sense of direction wherever they can get it.

In this episode of our podcast series, we hand over the mic to Argentine writer and journalist Gabriela Cabezón Cámara. One of the most powerful literary voices in Latin America today, she reflects on Europe through the lens of history, language and lived experience.   

As Trump takes aim at Europe, alleging ‘decay’ and ‘civilizational erasure’, Mark Gilbert counters that both its cheerleaders and detractors, American and European, have created a false dichotomy in their characterizations. The European project is both more complex and subtle than either the Euro-boosters or sceptics would have us believe. Europe’s journey still has a long way to go.

Across Central and Eastern Europe, political parties are now divided into opposing pro-EU and pro-Russia camps, subverting the well-established left–right cleavage that has organized politics since the fall of communism. Meanwhile, a shifting geopolitical reality is driving a securitization of politics that in turn is further fuelling polarization. The EU must tread carefully.

November’s G20 summit in Johannesburg – the first on African soil – and the African and European Unions’ (AU-EU) summit marking 25 years of partnership in Luanda were reminders that both continents are now operating in a new, more competitive geopolitical environment. It also exposed the narratives each side holds about the other.

Amid a maelstrom of peace plans, ceasefire negotiations, leaks and reactions, predicting the outcome is a bold endeavour. Yet one thing is increasingly clear – the Europeans are facing a situation they failed to anticipate, despite repeated and consistent warnings.  

Discussions are ongoing around a US-led framework for peace in Ukraine, the terms of which suggest stark choices ahead for both Kyiv and Europe. How are the proposals viewed within Ukraine? And how feasible are the alternatives to continued engagement from the White House? BIG asked Oleksandra Azarkhina, Head of Defence Industries Initiatives at the Economic Security Council of Ukraine.

Georgia’s authoritarian turn is not an isolated crisis - it is a test of Europe’s geopolitical foresight and credibility as a guarantor of democratic reforms, transparency and the rule of law. In an essay for BIG, the country's fifth President urges the EU to match her compatriots' civil courage with strategic resolve.

Russia’s frozen assets are currently poisoning EU politics: the dilemma besetting Europe is whether to break the taboo of seizing them or not. Even if Belgium's fears are allayed, the plan is not without risk. Yet between Kyiv's plight and budgetary pressures at home, there are few easy choices left for Europe's leaders - or are there?

Can a political community designed to escape the logic of power evolve into one capable of exercising it and of acting strategically in a world increasingly defined by conflict?

Contrary to their name, rare earths are not particularly scarce in terms of geological abundance. Yet they are integral elements of the global economy - and thus pivotal to the EU's strategic ambitions. Where are the hotspots for these critical metals within Europe - and what's keeping them in the ground?

María Corina Machado's decision to stay in Venezuela and lead demonstrations against the Maduro regime despite personal risk earned her the Nobel Peace Prize this autumn – and worldwide recognition. Outside the confines of her safe house and among the massed crowd, her symbolic power lies in the details.

Climate diplomacy increasingly mirrors great-power politics, and the EU's new Global Climate and Energy Vision is an attempt to move beyond moral appeals and embrace 'Green Realpolitik'. COP30 in Belém will test whether Europe can turn this emergent internal realism into a credible external strategy.

When Raila Odinga – ‘Baba’ to millions (‘father’ in Swahili) – died this October, Kenya was convulsed with grief. Within hours of the news breaking, crowds thronged the streets. Songs and tears mingled with marches and gunfire. Some mourners were even killed in the mayhem. For a newcomer from Europe, this raw emotion, almost religious verve and outpouring of love for a political figure felt at odds with the political cynicism we have become accustomed to in the West.  

In the latest episode of Handing Over the Mic we hear from Dr Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and previously Secretary-General of Amnesty International - the first woman to hold either post. On the agenda: the geopolitics of social media regulation, and Europe's potential role as a driver of an alternative tech model in equal partnership with the Global South.

Pharmaceutical prowess and access to medicine production have become major levers of power and prestige. Yet as China's biopharma industry booms, and the US reshores production and threatens tariff hikes, Europe risks falling behind. Beijing's dominance of the electric vehicle sector offers clues to how Europe should respond now that another key industry faces a similar challenge.

This past summer the EU accepted asymmetric US tariffs, not just as the price for maintaining access to American markets but also for keeping Washington engaged in NATO and Ukraine. The much-criticised deal underscored the institutions' limited capacity to integrate commercial clout and statecraft - a geostrategic void at the heart of EU decision-making which demands urgent attention. BIG has a proposal.

The convincing victory in the Czech elections by Andrej Babis’s populist movement heralds his return as prime minister and immediately raises questions and concerns about what it means for the country, for Central Europe and for the EU.