Recent Publications
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April 2020 other Abstract In the wake of the 2015/2016 migration crisis, EU policy-makers have urged returning more irregular migrants. In order to achieve this, the EU has adopted a series of non-binding documents for European administrations (such as the EU Return Handbook) and agreed on informal return deals with countries of migrants’ origin including Afghanistan. This article argues that the EU’s shift towards soft law has not altered the EU’s return policy in a profound way. Yet, it has managed to ‘convert’ EU return policy by emphasizing a particular interpretation of existing hard law (towards more restrictive practices and a stronger focus on ‘efficiency’). The soft law approach has also allowed policy-makers to signal action in times of crisis at lower legislative and sovereignty costs. |
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April 2020 other ABSTRACT Studies on EU–Africa migration cooperation often focus on the interests of the EU and its member states. But what do African states themselves seek to achieve with respect to migration policy? This article presents an in-depth look at Ghana and Senegal, two stable West African democracies, and assesses which types of migration policies they support, and why. We suggest that a distinction ought to be made between West African policymakers’ more domestically-driven migration policy goals (to cooperate more closely with the diaspora or creating legal migration channels, for example) and internationally-induced ones (such as the reinforcement of border control capacities). Each type of policy interest is defended by an increasingly diverse set of national actors whose interests often – but not always – converge. This distinction should be considered as a continuum, as most West African migration policy preferences are driven by domestic as well as international factors, albeit to diverging degrees. Our findings demonstrate that migration policy-making in countries targeted by international cooperation can only be studied as an ‘intermestic’ policy issue, reflecting the dynamic interplay of international and domestic interests. |
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April 2020 policy brief At least 120 countries have asked South Korea for COVID-19 test kits and other materials to fight against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. South Korean biotech firms are shipping the kits everywhere from Europe and the United States to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The secret to South Korea’s test development and manufacturing success lies in Daejeon. This city is home to Daedeok Innopolis, South Korea’s main R&D cluster, including for biotech. Developed since the 1990s, South Korea’s biotech industry is a textbook case of the country’s industrial policy. It is based on two pillars: public-private cooperation and continuity across administrations. This is what Daedeok Innopolis and South Korea’s COVID-19 test success embody.  |
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Abstract This forum presents a snapshot of the current state of neoclassical realist theorizing. Its contributors are self-identified neoclassical realists who delineate their version of neoclassical realism (NCR), its scope, object of analysis, and theoretical contribution. From the standpoint of NCR, they contribute to and reflect on the “end of IR theory” debate. NCR has come under criticism for its supposed lack of theoretical structure and alleged disregard for paradigmatic boundaries. This raises questions as to the nature of this (theoretical) beast. Is NCR a midrange, progressive research program? Can it formulate a grand theory informed by metatheoretical assumptions? Is it a reformulation of neorealism or classical realism or an eclectic mix of different paradigms? The forum contributors argue that NCR, in different variants, holds considerable promise to investigate foreign policy, grand strategy and international politics. They interrogate the interaction of international and domestic politics and consider normative implications as well as the sources and cases of NCR beyond the West. In so doing, they speak to theorizing and the utility of the theoretical enterprise in IR more generally.
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In 2019, the Institute for European Studies was honoured to bring four PhDs to fruition: Sara Silvestre (PhD in Political Science), Max Jansson (PhD in Law), Carla Mascia (PhD in Political Science) and Stephan Klose (PhD in Political Science). The IES organised 59 events and produced 104 publications. The Institute continued to expand and now counts 108 people or 52.4 full-time equivalents. In 2019, IES scholars took part in a total of 175 media appearances. Moreover, the Institute was successful in obtaining externally funded projects. At the end of the year, no less than 35 external projects were conducted by IES scholars, whereas an additional 14 projects were funded through our own budget. IES research output contributed significantly to a range of prominent policy developments, like the EU and Flemish policies to achieve CO2 neutrality in the coming decades. The Institute’s leading advanced Master programmes deliberated 40 new graduates that have now obtained life membership to our 1250+ alumni group. In 2019, the IES as well as the VUB strengthened its links with the University of Warwick and United Nations University – UNU-CRIS. Also, intra-VUB collaboration was further increased, in particular between the IES and Vesalius College.  |
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ABSTRACT We examine to what extent (aspects of) national culture can explain cross-country variations in financial literacy. Our results, for a sample of 92 countries, show that Hofstede’s dimensions of power distance and individualism explain, respectively, over 40 and 60 per cent – which is substantially more than national cognitive scores and standard economic variables. In particular, we find that financial literacy is lower in countries where power distance is high, and that the opposite is true for individualism. Uncertainty avoidance would seem be negatively related with financial literacy, but the evidence is not so strong. For masculinity, indulgence, and long-term orientation we find no significant impact. Overall, our results highlight the need for additional (interdisciplinary) theories that can improve our understanding of the determinants of financial literacy and better guide policies in this area. Ahunov, M. and L. Van Hove, National culture and financial literacy: international evidence, Applied Economics, Vol. 52, Nr. 21, April 2020, p. 2261-2279. |
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Only the Dead is the most comprehensive mixed-methods analysis to date of an old and important debate that Stephen Pinker’s (2012) Better Angels and learned – if colorful – responses to it (Cirillo and Taleb 2016) have brought to a popular audience in the last decade. While it is a work of outstanding social science by an eminent scholar of international security and war, Only the Dead is also accessible to this same popular audience, and makes a significant contribution to both researchers in his field and broader society. The foremost among those contributions is to identify, with clarity that previous scholars have not, the role of international orders in keeping peace among their members – and driving conflict externally (Braumoeller 2019, p. 5). While others (Freedman 2014, Hoffman 2016) have suggested this, Braumoeller is the first to test the proposition systematically, arguing convincingly that such orders, and not shifts in underlying human views of war or even human nature, shape the likelihood of extreme violence in particular places and times. Doing so is likely to stimulate future research that will increase our understanding of war, peace, conflict and cooperation. Jordan Becker (2020) Only the Dead: the Persistence of War in the Modern Age, Defence Studies, 20:1, 101-103,DOI: 10.1080/14702436.2020.1717953 |
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What is the perspective of key EU member states towards South Korea? While EU- South Korea relations have attracted growing attention in recent years, the relationship between key EU member states and the Asian country remains underexplored. This report addresses this omission by describing and analysing the recent evolution of the relationship between Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and Sweden, on the one hand, and South Korea on the other. The report covers the areas of economic relations, security relations, bilateral relations and North Korea, and cultural relations. The report shows that there is a clear trend towards greater cooperation between key EU member states and South Korea. This trend holds regardless of who is in power in South Korea, with the report covering the second half of the Lee Myung-bak government, the whole Park Geun-hye government, and the first half of the Moon Jae-in government. The trend also holds regardless of the type of government in the EU member states analysed. To read more:  |
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March 2020 other Van Droogenbroeck, E. and L. Van Hove, Triggered or consciously evaluated? A qualitative inquiry into the decision to start using e-grocery services, The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, Vol. 30, Nr. 2, February 2020, p. 103-122. 10.1080/09593969.2019.1655085 |
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Most debates on U.S. military strategy in the Western Pacific revolve around the question of how to deter China. Advocates of deterrence by punishment believe that the Chinese threat is serious but not critical, because the United States can leverage its global military-technological advantages to preserve a position of regional military primacy. Those in favor of deterrence by denial point to China’s potential and “home advantages,” and argue that the United States should settle for more modest objectives such as preventing Chinese regional military dominance. I argue that the high level of uncertainty around Chinese capabilities and the evolving Sino-American regional military balance have led the United States to adopt a flexible strategy, and embrace distinct–even contradictory–operational concepts to deter Beijing: The United States itself mostly focuses primarily on deterrence by punishment, while actively encouraging and enabling its regional allies to develop deterrence by denial. |
IES is a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the 