Asser Institute | Tim Sweijs: Beyond traditional arms control: Law, politics, and the future of restraint
For decades, a web of international agreements kept some of the world’s most dangerous weapons under control. Today the web is weaking, and experts warn that the consequences could be severe. On the 24th of September HCSS Director of Research Tim Sweijs will speak at the Asser Institute with Thilo Marauhn Special Chair Arms Control Law at Asser Institute and Jeroen van den Boogaard, Legal Counsel at Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the future of restraint in arms control law and governance.
New Snapshot | Global Health Data in a Shifting International Order: Risks and Implications for Small and Middle Powers
Health data sharing has long underpinned global pandemic preparedness, early warning systems and vaccine development. Yet, as US-PRC rivalry intensifies, health data is increasingly treated as a strategic asset, reshaping patterns of international cooperation. This snapshot by Noemie Jacq examines how great power competition is transforming global health governance and the implications for Small and Middle Powers (SMPs), which remain structurally dependent on effective multilateral systems. Drawing on the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2026 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it identifies three key risks for SMPs: informational, technological and distributional, and considers how fairer and more resilient systems for health data sharing can be established.
Column Rob de Wijk | The conflict in Ukraine has reached a dangerous stage
The slow Russian advance continues, and attacks on each other’s territory are turning the war increasingly into an economic struggle, writes Rob de Wijk in his column for Trouw. According to Ukraine’s dismissed defense minister, Fedorov, his country is slowly but surely losing the war unless a new strategy is adopted. I do not know whether this statement is driven by resentment over his dismissal or by a desire to lead the country himself. What I do know is that Fedorov is calling for presidential elections during wartime, and that his dismissal was the result of a feud with General Syrskyi, the country’s top military commander.
