Strategic Analyst Benedetta Girardi and former Assistant Analyst Alisa Hoenig author a chapter in the newly published book Decoding the Chessboard of Asian Geopolitics: Asian Powerplay in East and Southeast Asia, The Global North, and Other Emerging Issues, published by Palgrave Macmillan (Eds. Debasish Nandy and Monojit Das).
The chapter, titled “Navigating Geopolitics: Europe’s Evolving Connections with South and Southeast Asia”, explores the dynamic and shifting relationships between Europe and key actors in Asia through a geopolitical lens. In an era marked by strategic competition and shifting alliances, understanding these evolving interregional connections is more important than ever.
You can find the book here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-96-3073-8
First Online: 19 April 2025
About this book
This book is part of a two-volumes exploration comprising 18 chapters organized into four distinct thematic sections. This volume delves into the geopolitical dynamics and power relations in East and Southeast Asia and the Global North. It examines the interactions of regional and extra-regional powers from both military and soft power perspectives. It highlights China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region, Russia’s involvement in Myanmar’s political economy, and Taiwan’s situation. It also examines the dynamics of India-Taiwan relations and North Korea’s foreign policy. This book presents interconnected discussions on various themes, offering valuable insights for readers. It provides useful insights into the role of the Global North from multiple perspectives. This will benefit students, scholars, and academicians from diverse disciplines such as International Relations, Foreign Policy, Defence and Strategic Studies, Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies, and Journalism. The other volume provides an in-depth analysis of the intricate power struggles within this Asian region, with a particular focus on India, and delves into the power dynamics of Central Asia, and West Asia offering a comprehensive examination of the geopolitical and power-related issues that shape these regions.
Chapter: Navigating Geopolitics: Europe’s Evolving Connections with South and Southeast Asia
You can find the chapter here: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-96-3073-8_8
Abstract
In a landscape of ever-changing geopolitics and geoeconomics, Asia has stably positioned itself at the centre of global affairs, both in terms of economic relevance and up-and-coming military powers (Girardi et al. in Getting Them on Board: Partners and Avenues for European Engagement in Indo-Pacific Maritime Security, 2024). Geographically far removed from the centre of action, European states have been observing the developments of Asian powers and are now eager to play a role in the dynamics of this intriguing region. Despite the distance, Europe’s connections to Asia are stronger than ever. Europeans are top investors in the region and in 2022, over one-third of European imports came from the Asia. Together, the EU and the Indo-Pacific hold over 70% of the global trade in goods and services (Krentz, 2023). Additionally, European states have steadily increased their presence in the region through freedom of navigation operations, capacity building and infrastructure projects, and diplomatic missions (Girardi et al. in Getting Them on Board: Partners and Avenues for European Engagement in Indo-Pacific Maritime Security, 2024; Van Hooft et al. in Guarding the Maritime Commons | What role for Europe in the Indo-Pacific, 2022). This chapter proposes and in-depth exploration of Europe’s view on the region, giving particular attention to the position of South and Southeast Asian nations. Several European states, such as Germany, the Netherlands, and France, as well as the EU itself, have published Indo-Pacific strategies in which guidelines to European engagement are provided. However, there is little in-depth public policy that establishes a clear European perspective on active cooperation venues; and the little policy available has so far focused on countries such as Australia, Japan, and South Korea. Therefore, this chapter aims at taking a closer look not only at the European view on the region, but also at the role of South and Southeast Asian nations in it.
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