EU

Narratives of External Norm Contenders Across the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood

The paper focuses on narratives of contested democracy by third-country actors — notably Russia and China — in the EU’s eastern neighbourhood. It identifies four dominant narratives across the region that originate from Russia — ‘decadent and declining West’, ‘historical unity with Russia’, ‘Russia provides security, the West stokes conflict’, and ‘Western-imposed democracy’ — and one broad narrative promoted by China, summed up as ‘China as a positive alternative’. It explores similarities and differences between the six country cases as well as between the narratives advanced by Russia and China. Finally, the paper also seeks to assess the receptiveness of local audiences to the narratives promoted by the two authoritarian powers and their relevance from the viewpoint of democratisation and EU democracy support.

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New Russian Immigration to the EU: The Case of the Baltic States, Finland, Germany & Poland

The political atmosphere in Russia, as well as the September 2022 mobilisation call for military service, made thousands of Russians leave their home country. Although a vast majority of them have settled in post-Soviet countries, a noticeable portion has also taken up residence in EU countries. A recent couple of years have seen significant expert interest in new Russian immigration, so there is no shortage of publications on the phenomenon. However, many of these analyses suffer from substantial flaws.

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Japan, NATO, and the Diversification of Security Partnerships

The US-led military alliances remain an integral part of the defence and deterrence strategies of countries in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions. Whereas the European security architecture is centred on a multilateral alliance, that is, NATO, the Asian security order is rooted in the hub-and-spokes system – the network of US-led bilateral alliances with key partners in Asia, such as Japan.

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Renewable Power: How China Came to Dominate the Electric Vehicle and Battery Industry

In China, electric vehicle technology has undergone a revolution over the past twenty years: from lagging behind the developed nations to becoming an industry leader. In the race for global leadership in the battery supply chains, the PRC has solidified its position through a strategic combination of domestic policies that include electric vehicle and mineral resource policies, complemented by its strategic five-year plans.

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Photo by Handout: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / AFP / Scanpix

A Tale of Two Populists: The Foreign Policy of PiS and Fidesz

This analysis into the foreign policies of Poland and Hungary under PiS and Fidesz, particularly in the context of the Russian war on Ukraine. Despite both parties being often labelled as populist, their foreign policy positions and actions differ. The ongoing Russian war against Ukraine has made these differences more visible, impacting their relationships with each other, other nations, and the EU.

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