Briefs / Focus / Spot Ons

EU and Turkey at a Crossroads: Avoiding a Foreseeable Break-Up
  • Focus

EU and Turkey at a Crossroads: Avoiding a Foreseeable Break-Up

As the Turkey-EU membership process has lost its credibility, with neither side honestly believing in Turkey’s accession anymore, this may be the moment for the EU to redefine its relationship with Turkey to regain leverage.

19 desembre 2016
The UN and Sustainable Peace in Syria – Still Worth Debating
  • Policy Brief

The UN and Sustainable Peace in Syria – Still Worth Debating

The UN remains the sole formal authority willing to and capable of facilitating a sustainable peace in Syria. To what extent the UN has learnt from its engagement in previous conflicts?

25 novembre 2016
Libyan Political Economy: Political Conflict, Crisis Management and Structural Reform
  • Policy Brief

Libyan Political Economy: Political Conflict, Crisis Management and Structural Reform

The ongoing political division and armed conflict in Libya have overshadowed the critical stage Libyan economy has reached. Libya’s only source of income, oil exports, became an integral dimension of the conflict.

6 octubre 2016
What Are the Alternatives with the Disappearence of the Two-State Solution?
  • Focus

What Are the Alternatives with the Disappearence of the Two-State Solution?

The two-state solution as a proposal for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is on the verge of vanishing. Unfortunately, everyone warns that the two-state solution is vanishing without giving an alternative.

12 setembre 2016
This is (not) Rocket Science: Using Space-Based Solutions For More Sustainable Management of Water Resources in Jordan
  • Policy Brief

This is (not) Rocket Science: Using Space-Based Solutions For More Sustainable Management of Water Resources in Jordan

Jordan is one of the most water scarce countries in the world. The growth of its resident refugee community and native population, as well as climate changes are further depleting its already limited water reserves.

1 setembre 2016
Recognising Palestine, Unrecognising Settlements
  • Focus

Recognising Palestine, Unrecognising Settlements

Achieving a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a long-standing EU policy objective. Of all the territorial disputes outside Europe, this conflict that has most preoccupied European decisions-makers.

13 juny 2016
Countering Violent Extremism in the MENA Region: Time to Rethink Approaches and Strategies
  • Policy Brief

Countering Violent Extremism in the MENA Region: Time to Rethink Approaches and Strategies

The foreign fighters phenomenon affecting MENA countries is unprecedented in its scale. While most MENA countries adopted “hard” strategies based on security-focused approaches, countering violent extremism also requires the use of “soft” str...

17 maig 2016
The Migration Crisis: Issue or Opportunity?
  • Policy Brief

The Migration Crisis: Issue or Opportunity?

The ongoing refugee crisis is the most acute political and policy challenge the EU and its neighbouring countries have been facing lately. The EU policies have been inadequate in addressing the magnitude of the crisis.

11 abril 2016
How Can the EU Border be Better Managed?
  • Policy Brief

How Can the EU Border be Better Managed?

The attempts by the EU to manage the refugee’s influx have been characterised by the prevalence of a security-based approach, the tendency to put migrants and refugees in the same box, and the prioritisation of border control.

5 abril 2016
Facilitating a Political Transition in Syria
  • Policy Brief

Facilitating a Political Transition in Syria

The International Syria Support Group agreed upon a cessation of hostilities in Munich. What are the prospects of a confederal approach to a political transition in Syria, as proposed by international officials?

10 març 2016
Turkey and the EU: A New Path Toward a Shared Security Policy
  • Policy Brief

Turkey and the EU: A New Path Toward a Shared Security Policy

The current geopolitical situation opens space for security cooperation between Ankara and Brussels. Turkey should redefine its strategy to include European priorities, whereas the EU needs to recognise some of the Turkish interests as legitimate.

4 març 2016
Reconceptualising Sustainable Responses to the Refugee Crisis
  • Policy Brief

Reconceptualising Sustainable Responses to the Refugee Crisis

An unprecedented number of asylum-seekers crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe in 2015. How can states better understand and respond to the complex realities of forced displacement and migration in the 21st century?

24 febrer 2016