The European Council on Foreign Relations

ECFR podcasts

2012-02-08T09:38:01+00:00

ECFR Scorecard: the Middle East & North Africa

ECFR agenda: Toby Dodge on recent developments in Iraq

ECFR español: entrevista con Antonio López Istúriz

ECFR deutsch: Deutsche und Europäische Außenpolitik

ECFR reports: Simon Winder on Germany's changing role

ECFR français: Scorecard 2012 en Français

ECFR italiano: se cade l'Italia cade l'Euro

Reinventing Europe: Poland and the euro crisis

2012-02-07T15:12:14+00:00

As part of the ‘Reinvention of Europe’ project, ECFR is publishing a series of papers on the national debates within EU member states about the crisis and the future direction of Europe. The first paper in the series examines the Polish situation.

Egypt’s popular putsch

2012-01-26T14:50:11+00:00

It is too early to write off Egypt's revolution. Unlike in the past, politics is now a live issue across the country, and that popular force is a difficult one to control or stop, and even the steps that have been taken now seemed impossible just over a year ago.

Iran: the year of living dangerously

2012-01-25T08:48:07+00:00

The European decision to tighten sanctions against Iran is correct. Careful, balanced and measured pressure on Tehran is necessary as we face a particularly dangerous year for relations with the Iranian regime.

Burma is changing, so where is Ashton?

2012-01-19T09:35:34+00:00

There are encouraging signs that the junta ruling Burma is starting to reform, and the country has been visited by Hillary Clinton and several top politicians from Europe. The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, also needs to pay Burma a visit, and soon.

A road map for the euro

2012-01-17T09:35:37+00:00

The financial markets have repeatedly shown their distrust in the long term sustainability of European Monetary Union. Confidence desperately needs to be restored, and that means rapid and credible agreement on measures that include a more integrated political framework.

Assad’s continued defiance in the face of growing isolation

2012-01-13T12:02:36+00:00

Are the days of the Syrian president numbered? Despite popular opposition and growing international isolation, Assad's eventual demise is by no means assured.

The year of the HUBRICS

2012-01-12T09:07:09+00:00

With Europe and much of the West facing a seemingly painful decline, attention continues to shift to the BRICS and the world's other rising powers. But are these countries overplaying their hands as the cracks begin to show in their economic virility?

Don’t write off the Arab League in Syria ... yet

2012-01-10T11:35:10+00:00

On Sunday, the Arab League agreed to continue its controversial observer mission in Syria. In this piece, originally published by Foreign Policy two days before the League meeting, Richard Gowan makes the case for keeping the mission going.

The eurozone will pay a high price for Germany’s economic narcissism

2012-01-09T09:02:04+00:00

Germany's minimalist approach to fixing the eurozone crisis is not only leading to ever more bailouts. It is also harming the rest of the eurozone because Germany's 'ordoliberalism' is too inflexible to provide a coherent answer to the crisis.

Stop fretting about Beijing as a global policeman

2012-01-05T12:45:42+00:00

Last year was a tipping point in China's approach to the world, and expectations are rising that Beijing will shoulder ever greater responsibility on the global stage. But if China joins the US as a world policeman, should the rest of us be worried?

Ten trends for 2012

2011-12-21T09:56:20+00:00

After a frenetic 2011, what are the big trends that are going to shape Europe and the wider world in 2012? Here are ten that ECFR experts think are likely - and one widely predicted trend that we don't think will happen...

Václav Havel remembered

2011-12-19T11:02:52+00:00

A defining figure of late twentieth century Europe, Václav Havel, has died. Among his many roles he was an ECFR Council Member, and is being mourned by those who knew, respected and - sometimes - argued with him.

A European response to the crisis

2011-12-15T12:28:34+00:00

The crisis of the euro has been a chilling reminder that money is about far more than coins and a means of exchange. We are now standing on the edge of a precipice, and we Europeans have the choice of shirking responsibility or laying the foundations of a new Europe.

The hobbled summit

2011-12-14T16:34:58+00:00

As the EU and Russia hold their latest summit neither side can boast that they are in the best of health. But the summit is important for symbolic reasons - and there are several practical issues that they can address at the same time.

The EU and Algeria: reasons for hope

2011-12-14T10:24:07+00:00

Algeria did not catch fire in the year of the Arab Spring, but this does not mean that it does not deserve the attention of the EU. Algeria needs to reform if it is to remain stable, and it needs European help to do so.

The economics of the summit: an expensive signal to the ECB

2011-12-12T09:21:36+00:00

The only real success of the euro summit was that it might encourage the ECB to step up its role in the euro area. But years more austerity and a major rift with Britain are a high price the whole euro zone will have to pay for German ideology.

Russia’s post-BRIC election

2011-12-08T09:38:01+00:00

Russia in 2010 was as corrupt as Papua New Guinea, had the property rights of Kenya and was as competitive as Sri Lanka. As Putin readies himself to retake the presidency he must also work out how to deal with a country that is now firmly post-BRIC.

The beginning of the end for Putin?

2011-12-06T10:25:22+00:00

Russia's election results are bad news for Putin for two reasons. Firstly United Russia did badly despite the election being biased in its favour, and secondly it shows that Putin can no longer rely on an apathetic population.

How not to intervene in Syria

2011-12-02T13:59:33+00:00

The hunt is on for ways to offer security and aid to Syrian civilians, but the risk of any military-humanitarian mission backfiring is high. The lessons of Darfur are that any peacekeepers would be targeted, especially as the unrest turns into full-scale war.

How the eurozone crisis affects EU power

2011-11-25T13:26:32+00:00

The economic crisis has huge implications for EU foreign policy. There is less time for it, less money available, and Europe's ability to project soft power is in a coma.

Democracy put to the test

2011-11-24T17:08:44+00:00

Just as the mechanisms that made democracy function in city states were not adequate for governing nation states, representative democracies today are showing themselves incapable of managing, effectively and democratically, the system that is emerging in Europe.

To get out of this crisis we need to rebuild Europe from scratch

2011-11-22T10:01:31+00:00

The answer to the EU's current problems is to rebuild from scratch, replacing the existing EU with a new, two layered structure with an inner and an outer core.

A deepening crisis requires further integration

2011-11-17T07:45:39+00:00

The economic crisis is now at a critical point, and Europe's leaders must chose between a federated eurozone power or yielding to the power of the markets and economic and political disruption.

Mother Russia, Father Putin

2011-11-15T09:46:14+00:00

Russia's foreign policy over the coming decade will bear the signature of Vladimir Putin, as Russia seeks new alliances and international clout. The price that Russia is likely to pay is international isolation

Europe’s deceptive aggregate deficits

2011-11-14T16:18:47+00:00

Despite the deepening crisis, when taken as a whole the Eurozone's basic figures do not look too bad. But because the Eurozone is a flawed construction these figures are only a distraction, and the need for real reforms remains.

A marginalised Britain makes EU break-up more likely

2011-11-03T15:58:20+00:00

The actions of Britain's coalition government are making it more likely that we will see the EU disintegrate, leaving behind a saved Eurozone that marginalises all those outside it - including Britain itself.

The return of political economy

2011-11-02T16:04:07+00:00

The present crisis of the Eurozone is a direct consequence of a half hearted, half considered, half explained and therefore half finished integration. Europeans must be prepared for sacrifice, but our leaders must make sure that sacrifice is worthwhile.

China’s desert-dance in Libya

2011-10-31T16:45:21+00:00

As its international profile and interests grow, China's foreign policies - now those of a great power - are coming under increasing scrutiny. Here are the four fault lines that are forming in how Beijing deals with the world.

The euro summit: think twice before you celebrate

2011-10-27T11:07:19+00:00

The reaction of both the markets and politicians suggests that the latest euro summit has been a success. But the outcome is unlikely to end the euro crisis, and parts of it might actually make it worse.