Brussels Institute
for Geopolitics

Mission Statement

Geopolitics is back. Russia’s war against Ukraine has shaken us awake. The rise of strongmen around the world, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the political chasm between the United States and China have brutally shown how strategically vulnerable Europe is.

The world has entered into a new age of rivalry and uncertainty, and to thrive in this new era Europe must learn to act and think in terms of power, interests and strategy.

This shift in thinking poses tough and profound questions. Strategy and geopolitics were never what the European Union was designed for. They sit at odds with the Union’s self-image as a global beacon for peace and rules-based order.

And yet, to preserve its democratic openness on the inside, Europe must strengthen its posture to the outside, practising Kant at home and Machiavelli abroad.

For Europe to act as a power among powers, a Rubicon needs to be crossed. A novel orientation towards geography and history must be developed, a new political language to make sense of our place in a world that has changed. Only this will allow us Europeans to uphold our interests and values.

From the global scramble for energy and natural resources to the battle of narratives and the fight against climate change, we need answers that are fresh and bold and that respond to today’s geopolitical realities. Strategic awareness must be firmly embedded in decision-making structures both in Brussels and in national capitals.

This vital shift in thinking will not happen without catalysts. It requires a steady stream of sound and thought-provoking research on geopolitics and strategy, as well as a dedicated space for debate. It needs a central pivot in Brussels that connects insight from Europe’s east, west, north and south, and that brings together the continent’s best minds on statecraft, history and foresight.

Such a catalyst, hub and pivot is precisely what the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics plans to be.