Sanctions freeze assets with a heavy hand; court systems often demand money up front just to open the door. What happens when these two logics collide? In C-384/24 (RKDF v Belgium), the Court of Justice (Tenth Chamber) offers a crisp answer: Member…
The Quantum threat and the urgent need for PQC The coming era of quantum computing threatens to undermine much of the cryptographic infrastructure we rely on today. The asymmetrical algorithms that protect data, communications and digital services may, in time,…
When Russian drones breached Polish airspace on September 9–10, they carried no warheads—only a message. Stripped of explosives but heavy with intent, these aircraft weren’t instruments of war but tools of psychological warfare, probing for cracks in the Western alliance.…
The General Court of the European Union has upheld the EU’s decision to maintain restrictive measures against Positive Group PAO, active in Russia’s IT sector, following its judgment in Case T-573 The court dismissed the company’s challenge, reinforcing the legitimacy of the so-called “IT criterion” employed…
Luxembourg, 3 September 2025 The General Court of the European Union has dismissed a challenge against the Commission’s July 2023 adequacy decision, which established the latest framework for the transfer of personal data between the EU and the United States.…
In a pivotal speech, Mario Draghi delivered a stark message regarding the European Union’s current standing on the global stage, arguing that a long-held illusion about economic power automatically translating into geopolitical influence has evaporated. His address serves as a…
The Russian approach to deterrence, referred to as “deterrence à la Russe,” differs significantly from the Western conceptualization in several fundamental aspects, including its etymology, underlying logic, scope, typology, and the cultural factors that influence it. Here are the main…
Carlo Altomonte, a professor at Bocconi University and Vice President of ISPI, provided a detailed analysis of the tariff agreement between the European Union and the United States, placing it within a broader geopolitical and trade policy context (ISPI YOUTUBE…
While headlines are fixated on tariffs and trade spats, a more dangerous mechanism may be quietly unfolding under Donald Trump’s second presidency. Italian economist and journalist Federico Fubini lays out a disturbing yet well-documented argument: the real price of Trump’s…
Petros C. Mavroidis has identified a major problem in how the WTO handles national security disputes. Countries are increasingly using “national security” as an excuse to break trade rules, and the WTO’s courts don’t know how to respond effectively. When…
The trajectory is worth tracing in detail because it reveals something that gets lost in the usual narrative. The United States did not simply “walk away” from the WTO dispute system. Across five administrations — two Democratic, two Republican, and…
The America’s AI Action Plan (July 2025), issued under the Trump administration, sets out an expansive and unapologetically assertive roadmap for establishing the United States as the unchallenged global leader in artificial intelligence. The document is framed not merely as a technology…
Recent analyses published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) highlight a significant but underappreciated development: the increasing structural role of stablecoins in the U.S. short-term sovereign debt market. As of early 2025, leading stablecoin issuers—most notably Tether and Circle—collectively hold over…
Conclusion The decline of U.S. soft power is not just symbolic; it has tangible effects—from diplomatic alienation and strategic loss in key regions, to economic fallout and diminished influence. Without renewed investment in foreign aid, public diplomacy, and cultural outreach,…
What makes this white paper worth reading carefully is not the doctrine itself — Beijing has been articulating “holistic national security” for a decade. It is the decision to codify it in a single document, at this particular moment, with…
The EU regulation on countering foreign economic coercion (Reg. 2023/2675) sets up an instrument that, at first glance, appears robust: it allows the Union to identify coercive acts by third countries, initiate consultations, and—if necessary—adopt response measures. The stated goal…
Imagine a trade policy that reacts automatically—if the U.S. imposes 30% on imports, our system instantly mirrors with 30%. No announcements, no grandiose threats, no ambiguous deadlines, just a simple rule: escalate, and we escalate equally. Mirror tariffs: a strategic…
Summary of “A Primer on Russian Cognitive Warfare” – Institute for the Study of War (ISW), June 30, 2025 Russia’s cognitive warfare represents a foundational pillar of its strategy for both war and governance. More than mere disinformation, it is…
An analysis and critique of the letter sent by President Donald J. Trump to the President of the European Commission on 11 July 2025. The aim is not merely to parse its diplomatic language, but to dissect its rhetorical construction, strategic implications,…
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, in its historic judgment in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia (9 July 2025), delivered a sweeping condemnation of the Russian Federation for what it characterized as multiple, flagrant, and coordinated violations…
1. Applicable international legal frameworks 2. State responsibility and attribution 3. Use of force and electronic warfare 4. Regulatory gaps and enforcement 5. Sources and further reading Key Legal Issues on the Table
I am proud to be part of SPHERE – Space Policies, Humanities, and Exogeographical Research Ecosystem, a research initiative that explores the political, social, and strategic dimensions of space in bold, interdisciplinary ways. SPHERE is an interdisciplinary research unit hosted by…
A trajectory links Earth to outer space, and it is not only the one traced by rockets. It is the political, economic, and regulatory path that the European Union is trying to chart while the cosmos becomes ever more crowded,…
RAND Europe’s response to the EU Cloud and AI Development Act consultation is a compelling and at times blunt strategic diagnosis of the European Union’s position within the global AI race. It offers a vision that moves away from romanticised…
The term “dark logic” in this context seems to refer to the AI’s ability to derive effective strategies or solutions that are outside the realm of human reasoning, often leading to unexpected yet successful outcomes. We’ve entered a strange new…
In an age where synthetic realities are indistinguishable from truth, and deepfakes spread faster than fact-checkers can blink, Simon Chesterman’s recent article “Lawful but Awful: Evolving Legislative Responses to Address Online Misinformation, Disinformation, and Mal-Information in the Age of Generative AI” (2025)…
“Today, those who control the questions shape the answers and those who shape the answers control the world.” — Luciano Floridi (L., Floridi, The Politics of Uncertainty, Philosophy & Technology, volume 28, pages 1–4, (2015)) In the age of information, power no longer resides…
Intelligence agencies must remain candid truth-tellers, not echo chambers for political narratives. When assessments are shaped to align with a government’s domestic agenda, the risk of distortion grows: facts may be selectively emphasized or downplayed to fit a desired storyline.…
In the concluding chapter of his comprehensive and interesting study, Nicholas Mulder traces the evolution of economic sanctions from their early twentieth-century origins to the present day, offering three key insights into their historical development and contemporary significance. The transformation…
– Grace Murray Hopper, born on December 9, 1906, was a groundbreaking figure often referred to as the “grandmother of computer programming”. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in math and physics from Vassar College in 1928, and later a Master’s and…
In his thought-provoking article, ‘Universities as Innovation Ecologies for Human and Planetary Flourishing’, Otto Scharmer challenges the traditional role of universities, advocating a transformative approach to higher education. He argues that universities must evolve into dynamic ecosystems that actively engage…
Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, born in 1864 and deceased in 1958, is primarily remembered for his role in promoting peace through economic instruments. During the First World War, from February 1916 to July 1918, he served as…
The Revival of Geopolitical Bloc Monica Duffy Toft’s article “The Return of Spheres of Influence: Will Negotiations Over Ukraine Be a New Yalta Conference?” from Foreign Affairs (March 2025) begins by charting a historical arc: after the Cold War, the ascendancy of…
In late June 2025, a striking announcement marked a turning point in Germany’s intelligence landscape: the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), the country’s foreign intelligence agency, is set to undergo a major institutional overhaul. At the heart of this transformation lies a symbolic yet strategic leadership…
1. International Law is not a Monolith A recent piece on The Guardian conflates the crisis of one branch of international law—namely, international criminal justice—with the demise of the entire system. Yes — it seems quite likely that the title of Linda Kinstler’s…
In their recent article Might Unmakes Right (Foreign Affairs July/August 2025 Published on June 24, 2025), Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro argue that the international legal order—painstakingly built over the past century—is unraveling under the pressure of great power politics and the…
The United States has taken a bold, even bewildering step into the digital age of money. Through two executive orders in early 2025, the White House unveiled a Digital Asset Strategy (DAS) aimed at turning the US into the “crypto…
The decline of the dollar in global reserves is one of those trends that everyone discusses and nobody quite agrees on how to measure. The latest ECB data provides a useful corrective to both the alarmist and the complacent narratives.…
The RAND Europe submission to the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on National Security Strategy, in response to its Call for Evidence on Undersea Cables dated 6 March 2025, presents a detailed and urgent assessment of the risks, vulnerabilities, and governance…
I. Obligations under International Treaties: The NPT and Safeguards Agreements with the IAEA Iran has been a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) since 1970 as a non-nuclear-weapon state. Under Article II of the NPT, Iran is legally…
