Expert Analysis | From Sanctions to Drone Warfare: The Slow Erosion of Russia’s Oil Sector
Russia’s oil sector remains resilient, but its strategic foundations are weakening, HCSS energy specialists Jilles van den Beukel and Lucia van Geuns write in a new Expert Analysis. Sanctions have not stopped exports, yet they have increased costs, reduced efficiency and constrained access to technology and investment. Ukraine’s sustained strikes on refineries add direct pressure on the infrastructure converting crude into higher-value products. Maintaining effective sanctions enforcement, limiting access to critical technologies and sustaining pressure on Russia’s energy infrastructure can gradually reduce the profitability and fiscal capacity underpinning the war effort, the authors conclude.
Expert Analysis | Droneproductie in Nederland vergt meer industriële capaciteit
Nederland wil de productie van drones versnellen, zowel voor defensie als voor civiele toepassingen. Maar hoe sterk is de Nederlandse industrie eigenlijk gepositioneerd om daarin een leidende rol te spelen? In deze analyse onderzoeken Ron Stoop en Rens van Dam hoe de Nederlandse economische structuur zich verhoudt tot die van andere Europese landen. Zij laten zien dat Nederland weliswaar uitblinkt in software, fotonica en hoogwaardige dronecomponenten, maar achterblijft in grootschalige productiecapaciteit. De auteurs betogen dat Nederland daarom moet kiezen: investeren in een sterkere eigen industriële basis of zich strategisch positioneren als gespecialiseerde partner binnen Europese dronewaardeketens.
Expert Analysis | At cross purposes? The TPNW and US alliance commitments
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is often portrayed as incompatible with US alliance commitments, limiting its consideration within NATO. This analysis challenges that assumption, arguing that the experiences of US allies such as New Zealand and the Philippines demonstrate that support for the TPNW need not undermine alliance obligations. At a time of growing uncertainty over extended deterrence, Davis Ellison explores how the treaty could strengthen non-proliferation efforts while prompting a more pragmatic debate about the future relationship between nuclear disarmament and alliance security.
