Fredrik Wesslau
Director of the Wider Europe Programme
Languages: Swedish, English, French
Areas of Expertise: European foreign policy, conflict and crisis management, state-building, counter-piracy, South Caucasus, and Western Balkans
Fredrik Wesslau used to be Director of the Wider Europe Programme and Senior Policy Fellow at ECFR until 2018.
By Fredrik Wesslau
-
Spain’s Kosovo-Catalonia conundrum (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 24 November 2017
Madrid is inadvertently equating Catalonia and Kosovo and, by doing so, revealing itself to be unable to distinguish between legitimate aspirations for self-rule and destabilizing separatism.
Moscou et les extrême-droites européennes, une quête mutuelle de légitimité ?
Podcast du Black Coffee Morning "Moscou et les extrême-droites européennes, une quête mutuelle de légitimité" du 14/11/2017 avec Anton Shekhovstov, auteur du récemment publié "Russia and the Western Far Right : Tango Noir" aux éditions Routledge, Thorniké Gordadzé de l'Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN) et animé par Fredrik Wesslau, senior policy fellow et directeur du programme Wider Europe de l'ECFR.
What to do about Turkey? (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 17 October 2017
Suspending Turkey’s EU accession process would be a strategic mistake of historic proportions.
Putin’s peacekeepers: Beware of Russians bearing gifts (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 11 September 2017
The West should engage with Russia's peacekeeping proposal - but skeptically and with clear conditions.
So far from god, so close to Russia: Belarus and the Zapad military exercise
by
Fredrik Wesslau & Andrew Wilson - 11th September, 2017
Renewed Minsk-Moscow cooperation in the ‘Zapad’ war games should not see the door to Belarus closed
PDF
Press Release
-
So far from god, so close to Russia: Belarus and the Zapad military exercise
by
Fredrik Wesslau,
Andrew Wilson - 11th September, 2017
Renewed Minsk-Moscow cooperation in the ‘Zapad’ war games should not see the door to Belarus closed
PDF
The great unravelling: four doomsday scenarios for Europe’s Russia policy
by
Gustav Gressel,
Fredrik Wesslau - 19th June, 2017
There is no room for complacency in Europe’s stance towards Russia and Ukraine.
PDF
Russia 2030: A story of great power dreams and small victorious wars
by
Fredrik Wesslau,
Andrew Wilson - 23rd May, 2016
The future of Europe’s relations with Russia looks bleak as the Kremlin pursues an increasingly aggressive foreign policy.
PDF
Return to instability: How migration and great power politics threaten the Western Balkans
by Francisco de Borja Lasheras, with Vessela Tcherneva and Fredrik Wesslau - 21st March, 2016
EU’s weakness is prompting a new scramble for power for the Balkans with Russia, Turkey and other actors.
PDF
EPUB
Mobi
European Foreign Policy Scorecard 2016
by Dennison et al. - 28th January, 2016
The sixth ECFR Foreign Policy Scorecard highlights the EU's diminishing ability to influence its neighbours, and the neighbourhood's growing impact on the EU.
PDF
EPUB
Mobi
-
Spain’s Kosovo-Catalonia conundrum (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 24 November 2017
Madrid is inadvertently equating Catalonia and Kosovo and, by doing so, revealing itself to be unable to distinguish between legitimate aspirations for self-rule and destabilizing separatism.
What to do about Turkey? (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 17 October 2017
Suspending Turkey’s EU accession process would be a strategic mistake of historic proportions.
Putin’s peacekeepers: Beware of Russians bearing gifts (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 11 September 2017
The West should engage with Russia's peacekeeping proposal - but skeptically and with clear conditions.
MacMeltdown: Understanding the political crisis in Macedonia (Commentary)
Vessela Tcherneva & Fredrik Wesslau - 05 May 2017
The ongoing crisis in Macedonia could become destabilizing for the region unless the EU takes more decisive action.
The Populist-Putin-Trump insurgency against liberal Europe (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 05 December 2016
The new axis between Trump’s America, Putin’s Russia, and European populists represents a toxic mix for the liberal order in Europe.
Putin’s friends in Europe (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 19 October 2016
The upsurge of populism in Europe has provided Russia with an ample supply of sympathetic political parties across the continent.
View from Stockholm: Not the time for frailty (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 14 October 2016
Given Russia’s multiple moves to up the ante in recent weeks, Stockholm sees no reason for the EU to change direction.
View from Stockholm: Brexit and the future of Europe (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 15 September 2016
Sweden has much to lose from a hard divorce.
-
Moscou et les extrême-droites européennes, une quête mutuelle de légitimité ?
Podcast du Black Coffee Morning "Moscou et les extrême-droites européennes, une quête mutuelle de légitimité" du 14/11/2017 avec Anton Shekhovstov, auteur du récemment publié "Russia and the Western Far Right : Tango Noir" aux éditions Routledge, Thorniké Gordadzé de l'Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN) et animé par Fredrik Wesslau, senior policy fellow et directeur du programme Wider Europe de l'ECFR.
New chaos in the Balkans: what role left for the EU?
Mark Leonard talks with the director of ECFR's office in Sofia, Vessela Tcherneva and the director of ECFR's Wider Europe programme, Fredrik Wesslau about the crisis in Macedonia and the bigger picture of political stagnation and chaos in the Balkans, at a time when accession to the EU is losing its credibility in the region.
The podcast was recorded on 5th May 2017.
Bookshelf:
Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Dubravka Ugrešić, Baba Yaga Laid an Egg
Anne-Marie Slaughter, The Chessboard and the Web: Strategies of Connection in a Networked World
ECFR Clips: EU-Russia Relations in the Donald Trump Era
Donald Trump's presidency will be the end of global politics as we know it. Fredrik Wesslau, Director of ECFR's Wider Europe Programme and senior policy fellow, Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs journal and Academic Director of Valdai, and Kadri Liik, senior policy fellow at ECFR weigh in on what Trump's election might mean for US-Russia relations, Europe's relationship with Russia and the end of the Post-Cold War era. The podcast was recorded on 24 November 2016.
ECFR’s World in 30 Minutes: Ukraine's 25th anniversary of independence
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with experts Andrew Wilson, Fredrik Wesslau and Gustav Gressel, about rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Donbass, the Minsk agreement, and whether European sanctions on Russia should be renewed. The podcast was recorded on 30 August 2016.
Bookshelf:
Enough said: What’s gone wrong with the language of politics by Mark Thompson
The decline of the West by Oswald Sprengler
Ukraine crisis: What it means for the West by Andrew Wilson
The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation by Andrew Wilson
Russia - future imperfect?
How will Russia and Europe’s eastern neighbours look 14 years from now? What key trends will play out in Russia and Eastern Europe? What sort of events could throw them off course? What the EU should do about this? Nicu Popescu, Senior Analyst at EUISS, and Andrew Wilson, ECFR Senior Policy Fellow, discuss ECFR’s recent publication "Russia 2030: A story of great power dreams and small victorious wars" by Fredrik Wesslau and Andrew Wilson. Chair: Fredrik Wesslau.
ECFR’s World in 30 Minutes: The geopolitics of the Eurovision Song Contest
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Nicola Clase, Swedish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Fredrik Wesslau, Director of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme, and Vessela Tcherneva, Head of ECFR’s Sofia Office, about the Eurovision Song Contest and its geopolitical features.
The Swedish Ambassador’s Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest by Nicola Clase
The podcast was recorded on the 16 May 2016.
From sanctions to cooperation: what kind of relations with Russia ?
Conférence du jeudi 7 avril sur les relations entre l'Union européenne et la Russie. Avec:
- Sylvie Kauffmann, directrice éditoriale Le Monde
- Fredrik Wesslau, Directeur du programme Wider Europe de l'ECFR
- Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, directeur du bureau de l'ECFR à Paris
-
Open Democracy
24th November, 2017
Frederik Wesslau writes about Spain's non-recognition of Kosovo's independence in relation to the Catalan separatism case.
Radio Free Europe
10th October, 2017
Fredrik Wesslau and Andrew Wilson's ECFR report on the Russian Zapad military exercise is quoted.
TVN24
03rd September, 2017
Summary of the ECFR report by Gustav Gressel and Fredrik Wesslau titled 'The great unravelling: four doomsday scenarios for Europe’s Russia policy'.
EUobserver
12th June, 2017
Fredrik Wesslau is quoted on the impact of recent Kosovar election results on the country's relationship with the EU.
The Atlantic
24th February, 2017
Fredrik Wesslau is quoted on Moscow’s ideological affinity with Marine Le Pen's FN.
Trouw
16th December, 2016
Dina Pardijs and Fredrik Wesslau are quoted on Western populist movements' support to Vladimir Putin.
Newsweek
04th December, 2016
Fredrik Wesslau's op-ed on the populist disruption that threatens the liberal order.
-
Spain’s Kosovo-Catalonia conundrum (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 24 November 2017
Madrid is inadvertently equating Catalonia and Kosovo and, by doing so, revealing itself to be unable to distinguish between legitimate aspirations for self-rule and destabilizing separatism.
Moscou et les extrême-droites européennes, une quête mutuelle de légitimité ?
Podcast du Black Coffee Morning "Moscou et les extrême-droites européennes, une quête mutuelle de légitimité" du 14/11/2017 avec Anton Shekhovstov, auteur du récemment publié "Russia and the Western Far Right : Tango Noir" aux éditions Routledge, Thorniké Gordadzé de l'Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN) et animé par Fredrik Wesslau, senior policy fellow et directeur du programme Wider Europe de l'ECFR.
What to do about Turkey? (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 17 October 2017
Suspending Turkey’s EU accession process would be a strategic mistake of historic proportions.
Putin’s peacekeepers: Beware of Russians bearing gifts (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 11 September 2017
The West should engage with Russia's peacekeeping proposal - but skeptically and with clear conditions.
So far from god, so close to Russia: Belarus and the Zapad military exercise
by Fredrik Wesslau & Andrew Wilson - 11th September, 2017
Renewed Minsk-Moscow cooperation in the ‘Zapad’ war games should not see the door to Belarus closed
PDF Press Release
-
So far from god, so close to Russia: Belarus and the Zapad military exercise
by Fredrik Wesslau, Andrew Wilson - 11th September, 2017
Renewed Minsk-Moscow cooperation in the ‘Zapad’ war games should not see the door to Belarus closed
PDF
The great unravelling: four doomsday scenarios for Europe’s Russia policy
by Gustav Gressel, Fredrik Wesslau - 19th June, 2017
There is no room for complacency in Europe’s stance towards Russia and Ukraine.
PDF
Russia 2030: A story of great power dreams and small victorious wars
by Fredrik Wesslau, Andrew Wilson - 23rd May, 2016
The future of Europe’s relations with Russia looks bleak as the Kremlin pursues an increasingly aggressive foreign policy.
PDF
Return to instability: How migration and great power politics threaten the Western Balkans
by Francisco de Borja Lasheras, with Vessela Tcherneva and Fredrik Wesslau - 21st March, 2016
EU’s weakness is prompting a new scramble for power for the Balkans with Russia, Turkey and other actors.
PDF EPUB Mobi
European Foreign Policy Scorecard 2016
by Dennison et al. - 28th January, 2016
The sixth ECFR Foreign Policy Scorecard highlights the EU's diminishing ability to influence its neighbours, and the neighbourhood's growing impact on the EU.
PDF EPUB Mobi
-
Spain’s Kosovo-Catalonia conundrum (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 24 November 2017
Madrid is inadvertently equating Catalonia and Kosovo and, by doing so, revealing itself to be unable to distinguish between legitimate aspirations for self-rule and destabilizing separatism.
What to do about Turkey? (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 17 October 2017
Suspending Turkey’s EU accession process would be a strategic mistake of historic proportions.
Putin’s peacekeepers: Beware of Russians bearing gifts (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 11 September 2017
The West should engage with Russia's peacekeeping proposal - but skeptically and with clear conditions.
MacMeltdown: Understanding the political crisis in Macedonia (Commentary)
Vessela Tcherneva & Fredrik Wesslau - 05 May 2017
The ongoing crisis in Macedonia could become destabilizing for the region unless the EU takes more decisive action.
The Populist-Putin-Trump insurgency against liberal Europe (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 05 December 2016
The new axis between Trump’s America, Putin’s Russia, and European populists represents a toxic mix for the liberal order in Europe.
Putin’s friends in Europe (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 19 October 2016
The upsurge of populism in Europe has provided Russia with an ample supply of sympathetic political parties across the continent.
View from Stockholm: Not the time for frailty (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 14 October 2016
Given Russia’s multiple moves to up the ante in recent weeks, Stockholm sees no reason for the EU to change direction.
View from Stockholm: Brexit and the future of Europe (Commentary)
Fredrik Wesslau - 15 September 2016
Sweden has much to lose from a hard divorce.
-
Moscou et les extrême-droites européennes, une quête mutuelle de légitimité ?
Podcast du Black Coffee Morning "Moscou et les extrême-droites européennes, une quête mutuelle de légitimité" du 14/11/2017 avec Anton Shekhovstov, auteur du récemment publié "Russia and the Western Far Right : Tango Noir" aux éditions Routledge, Thorniké Gordadzé de l'Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN) et animé par Fredrik Wesslau, senior policy fellow et directeur du programme Wider Europe de l'ECFR.
New chaos in the Balkans: what role left for the EU?
Mark Leonard talks with the director of ECFR's office in Sofia, Vessela Tcherneva and the director of ECFR's Wider Europe programme, Fredrik Wesslau about the crisis in Macedonia and the bigger picture of political stagnation and chaos in the Balkans, at a time when accession to the EU is losing its credibility in the region.
The podcast was recorded on 5th May 2017.
Bookshelf:
Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Dubravka Ugrešić, Baba Yaga Laid an Egg
Anne-Marie Slaughter, The Chessboard and the Web: Strategies of Connection in a Networked WorldECFR Clips: EU-Russia Relations in the Donald Trump Era
Donald Trump's presidency will be the end of global politics as we know it. Fredrik Wesslau, Director of ECFR's Wider Europe Programme and senior policy fellow, Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs journal and Academic Director of Valdai, and Kadri Liik, senior policy fellow at ECFR weigh in on what Trump's election might mean for US-Russia relations, Europe's relationship with Russia and the end of the Post-Cold War era. The podcast was recorded on 24 November 2016.
ECFR’s World in 30 Minutes: Ukraine's 25th anniversary of independence
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with experts Andrew Wilson, Fredrik Wesslau and Gustav Gressel, about rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Donbass, the Minsk agreement, and whether European sanctions on Russia should be renewed. The podcast was recorded on 30 August 2016.
Bookshelf:
Enough said: What’s gone wrong with the language of politics by Mark Thompson
The decline of the West by Oswald Sprengler
Ukraine crisis: What it means for the West by Andrew Wilson
The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation by Andrew Wilson
Russia - future imperfect?
How will Russia and Europe’s eastern neighbours look 14 years from now? What key trends will play out in Russia and Eastern Europe? What sort of events could throw them off course? What the EU should do about this? Nicu Popescu, Senior Analyst at EUISS, and Andrew Wilson, ECFR Senior Policy Fellow, discuss ECFR’s recent publication "Russia 2030: A story of great power dreams and small victorious wars" by Fredrik Wesslau and Andrew Wilson. Chair: Fredrik Wesslau.
ECFR’s World in 30 Minutes: The geopolitics of the Eurovision Song Contest
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Nicola Clase, Swedish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Fredrik Wesslau, Director of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme, and Vessela Tcherneva, Head of ECFR’s Sofia Office, about the Eurovision Song Contest and its geopolitical features.
The Swedish Ambassador’s Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest by Nicola Clase
The podcast was recorded on the 16 May 2016.
From sanctions to cooperation: what kind of relations with Russia ?
Conférence du jeudi 7 avril sur les relations entre l'Union européenne et la Russie. Avec:
- Sylvie Kauffmann, directrice éditoriale Le Monde
- Fredrik Wesslau, Directeur du programme Wider Europe de l'ECFR
- Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, directeur du bureau de l'ECFR à Paris
-
Open Democracy
24th November, 2017
Frederik Wesslau writes about Spain's non-recognition of Kosovo's independence in relation to the Catalan separatism case.
Radio Free Europe
10th October, 2017
Fredrik Wesslau and Andrew Wilson's ECFR report on the Russian Zapad military exercise is quoted.
TVN24
03rd September, 2017
Summary of the ECFR report by Gustav Gressel and Fredrik Wesslau titled 'The great unravelling: four doomsday scenarios for Europe’s Russia policy'.
EUobserver
12th June, 2017
Fredrik Wesslau is quoted on the impact of recent Kosovar election results on the country's relationship with the EU.
The Atlantic
24th February, 2017
Fredrik Wesslau is quoted on Moscow’s ideological affinity with Marine Le Pen's FN.
Trouw
16th December, 2016
Dina Pardijs and Fredrik Wesslau are quoted on Western populist movements' support to Vladimir Putin.
Newsweek
04th December, 2016
Fredrik Wesslau's op-ed on the populist disruption that threatens the liberal order.