Recent Publications

Despite growing criticism on extending the category ‘immigrant’ to children of immigrants, research in the field of migration studies generally distinguishes between different generations within the population of migrant descent. Those who migrated as adults are called ‘the first generation’, while children of immigrants who were born in the host country are labelled ‘the second generation’ and children of immigrants who migrated before or during their teens comprise ‘generation 1.5’. Even though these later generations are socialised in the host country, they are often still viewed as in need of integration and targeted by integration policies. In this policy brief, we discuss the particularities of ‘generations 1.5 and 2.0’ throughout Europe and join others in arguing that policymakers and scholars need to move beyond the integration paradigm towards a paradigm of equality. We suggest that an equality paradigm needs to take into account the specific inequalities that children of immigrants might face, but, at the same time, needs to be critical of the homogenising group designations that are assigned to them. 

The extensive commercialisation of civil drones has made them accessible to a broad range of users for leisure, business-related, and professional activities. However, their growing number has also raised a series of societal concerns about this fast-evolving technology, related to security, safety, privacy, protection of personal data, liability and environmental issues. To mitigate these risks, and to allow their eventual safe integration into the European airspace, the European Commission has taken on a leadership role over the last years to set up a European policy framework for the civil use of drones. This IES Policy Brief examines the actions the Commission has undertaken to become a central regulator of this emerging technology in Europe.

The United States has an extensive global network of security partnerships, the most important of which are in East Asia and Europe. U.S. allies in both regions are under increasing pressure from China and Russia, while President Trump’s contemptuous attitude toward them incites additional uncertainty about the reliability of the U.S. security umbrella. In particular, East Asian allies are anxious about Trump’s fluctuating relationship with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, and are waiting to see the impact of Kim’s nuclear capability on U.S. military activity in the Korean Peninsula. Given recent concerns voiced by U.S. allies, it is crucial to evaluate the circumstantial similarities and differences between U.S. trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic alliances in order to assess the overarching implications for the U.S. military alliance network going forward.

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This report profiles Flemish energy intensive industries, in the context of the transition to a low- carbon economy, through the analysis of relevant data, studies and technology roadmaps. The goal of this report was to utilise information and input from relevant stakeholders in order to investigate the added value of developing future industrial low-carbon visions for Flanders. It also sought, with an optimal contribution by industry, to put forth a proposal on the possible scope and blueprint of a future facilitative framework towards a Flemish low-carbon economy taking into account the interactions and possible synergies between energy intensive industries and the rest of the economy.

In January 2018, two different large-scale simulation games on the European Union’s decision-making process took place in Brussels. This study aims to bring systematic empirical evidence from both EuroSim and SUNY Model EU, two active learning experiences that gather around 300 international participants. The
intention is to scrutinize whether specific student attributes generate differential effects on the learning outcomes. These involve cognitive outcomes and affective outcomes. The first type refers to participant’s level of knowledge and understanding about the EU policy-making dynamics. The second type reflects on participants’ overall interest and motivation upon the EU. The data were obtained through a post-
game survey method based on stratified sampling. The results point at affective outcomes as the most salient learning outcomes of the simulations. In relation to participants’ features, the data reveal country of origin and gender as good performance-enhancers for students of non-EU origin and for the female cohort. All in all, in order to increase the usefulness of large-scale simulations, more attention needs to be given to participant selection and role attribution, as well as post-simulation
debriefing or focus groups.
 

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Despite the historic U.S.-North Korea summit in June, little progress was made on denuclearizing North Korea due to the clash between the U.S. and North Korea on the formula of denuclearization. Both sides are demanding the other to do its work upfront. Due to the inability to resolve this dilemma, North Korea’s nuclear problem has gotten worse during the last three decades. In order to make a breakthrough, North Korea needs to come to the table as soon as possible recognizing that the political momentum for a negotiated solution in the U.S. may not last long due to President Trump’s domestic problems. The U.S. needs to take a more pragmatic approach. While keeping the pressure with economic sanctions, it needs to take concrete measures of political engagement toward North Korea. This would contribute significantly to raising mutual trust and providing a more favorable political environment for negotiating a solution.

This study seeks to explore the possible developments facing the EU and its role of leadership in a global science diplomacy. Engaging in a foresight analysis, its aim is to provide a reflection on future scenarios and how EU action could influence and operate within them.  The emergence of a clear EU science diplomacy is faced with challenges which are both of a conceptual and material nature. On the one hand, the term remains subject to different interpretations and uses, and its value as a label for science cooperation initiatives is still unclear. On the other hand, unprecedented challenges like climate change require concerted science-based solutions. These seem increasingly harder to achieve in contexts where populist movements discredit scientific evidence as a basis for policy making or where scientific and technological progress is read in a purely competitive way. Within the EU, lack of support for further integration in domains that are not yet communitarised and distance between policy makers and the scientific community risk to nip EU science diplomacy in the bud.

Chantal Lavallée (2018): “The EU’s Dual-Use Exports: A Human Security Approach?”, p. 43-50. in “Guns, engines and turbines”, EU Institute for Security Studies.

Guns, engines and turbines

ABSTRACT

Considering arms trade an integral part of the EU’s foreign policy toolbox, what is the status of security cooperation between Europe and Asia? Who exactly benefits from European military technology and know-how and how does that affect the overall strategic balance in the region? And how might the EU coordinate its policies to best secure its strategic interests in Asia?

This Chaillot Paper sheds light on the new security dynamics in EU-Asia relations from the ‘hard security’ perspective. By looking at the burgeoning arms trade, dual-use technology transfers, and the emerging connections between new defence markets, it challenges the conventional perception of Europe as a ‘soft’ security actor on the global stage and in Asia in particular. It also shows how the debate on European arms sales highlights the discrepancy between a values-based foreign and security policy discourse at the EU level on the one hand and the economic interests and activities of its member states on the other.

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