EU Security in an Unpredictable World

The European Union (EU) and its member states face many significant crises and geopolitical threats. The Russian intervention in Ukraine – and the annexation of Crimea – has resulted in a degree of geopolitical rivalry with Moscow not seen since the early-1980s. The presence of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq has destabilised large parts of the Middle-East and resulted in terrorist attacks across Europe and the world. Libya is in a state of civil war and might turn into a failed state and a safe-haven for terrorism. In the Sahel region, Nigeria, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Somalia crises continue, while the longrunning Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains unresolved. The Arab Spring has failed to deliver a peaceful and/or stable environment. The refugee crisis has presented enormous challenges in terms of saving the lives of refugees, reducing migration flows, and integrating refugees across the member states. The EU Global Strategy of 2016 puts it to us in straightforward language: “Our Union is under threat.” During this talk, Hylke Dijkstra will make an assessment of recent EU policies which have been developed to respond to these challenges.

Dr Hylke Dijkstra is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science of Maastricht University, The Netherlands. He is primarily interested in the role of international organizations in the area of security, publishing extensively on the European Union, NATO and the United Nations. In 2008 he won a prize for the best article in European Foreign Affairs Review for scholars under the age of thirty-five. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Contemporary Security Policy.