- What are the geopolitical consequences of the energy transition?
- Will green technologies create new dependencies?
- Is the future of free aviation at stake?
- Can the European Union hold its own amid geopolitical, financial and other crises?
- A new government of national unity in Israel, what does it mean for the Palestinian issue?
- All of this and more in your new HCSS Digest:
HCSS is proud to welcome new Data Scientist Maarten Vonk to our team! Maarten’s interests lie in tackling geopolitical problems with analytical methods such as machine learning and optimization techniques.
The successful deployment of green technologies will also create new dependencies, for example on rare earth metals from China. Learn more about the dilemmas for the Dutch energy transition in a new paper by HCSS energy experts Jilles van den Beukel and Lucia van Geuns.
Even if all policies on sustainability are implemented, global gas consumption will still increase. The fact that we will remain dependent on fossil fuels until at least 2030 has geopolitical consequences for the Netherlands, Rob de Wijk warns in a new HCSS paper on Energy and Geopolitics.
The 11th meeting of The Hague Roundtable on Climate & Security was held at HCSS on 22 April, co-hosted by the Water Peace & Security partnership (WPS) and the Dutch MFA, with panelists including strategic analyst Laura Birkman. Some 150 participants joined the panel discussion on Building a transatlantic coalition for climate action on water and security challenges in countries of risk. Report and video on our website.
‘The Netherlands must become more assertive in the world, because our economic security is at stake,’ Han ten Broeke commented in the VNO-NCW opinion magazine Forum: if we don’t do anything, China and the US will run off with the loot.
In his column for EnergiePodium, Rob de Wijk explains how thoroughly politicized the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany has become: “Once in operation, any misunderstanding with Russia will be used to question the pipeline.”
Eight parties, from left to far right, form a new government of national unity in Israel. Their main goal: to sideline Netanyahu. What does this new government mean for Israel and for the Palestinian issue? HCSS director of political affairs Han ten Broeke discussed the topic in this week’s BNR De Wereld with Bernard Hammelburg.
Europe is under attack from all sides. But in his new book “De Slag Om Europa”, Rob de Wijk surprisingly shows that the European Union is nevertheless holding its own. In fact, it’s possible the EU could become the most important player on the world stage, he explains in an interview with Maarten van Rossum.
Does European business have a future in Xi Jinping’s China? To answer this question, strategic analyst Joris Teer talked to David Rennie, Beijing Bureau Chief at The Economist. Stay tuned for the full video on Monday!
In addition to geopolitical, financial and other crises, China and Russia are trying to tear the EU apart. Can Europe meet these challenges? During a digital event for the SGP-Jongeren, Rob de Wijk talked about this Battle for Europe – rewatch the video on our website now.
In his inaugural paper “Beware The Hype” of the new Defense AI Observatory, HCSS subject matter expert Heiko Borchert looks at the most recent conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, and between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. He argues that while these conflicts offer insights into certain aspects of future warfighting, they are not game changing.
What is the effectiveness of sanctions, Rob de Wijk wonders in his column for Trouw – are they largely symbolic? Only a very small percentage has had the desired effect: it’s a nuisance for the population affected, but the countries themselves feel little of it.
With the hijacking of Ryanair flight 4978 by Belarus, is the future of free aviation at stake? Hear all about it from Arend Jan Boekestijn and Rob de Wijk in conversation with former pilot Benno Baksteen in their weekly program for BNR Nieuwsradio.
Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia interviewed HCSS subject matter expert Martijn Vlaskamp on his book “Violencia Politica” (Political Violence). The article compares the book with a description of the Seven Years’ War of 1759 and ponders how political violence can be analyzed “rationally”.