Amid growing Polish concerns over Germany’s military built-up, Berlin’s claim to leadership lacks credibility, writes @jgotkowska.bsky.social from Warsaw. Read more on the weaknesses of the current German defense posture from our German Leadership in Europe series: ip-quarterly.com/en/germany-n...

“De-risking must remain the first strategic aim.” From our NEW ISSUE: As trade tensions escalate, @fraghi.bsky.social discusses a contentious moment and an uncertain future for EU-China relations. ip-quarterly.com/en/counterin...

The EU approaches finance for the economy it used to have, not the one that will decide power in 2040 - for @ipq.bsky.social I argue that budget choices, joint debt and the digital euro may decide if Europe remains a great power or slips into the middle-power league

Very interesting read 👇

“Japan-EU relations have transitioned from shared values to structured strategic cooperation,“ Takahiro Tsuchiya writes. From Tokyo’s point of view, the EU is becoming ever more important as an arbiter of the liberal international order. ip-quarterly.com/en/eus-growi...

Massive rearmament efforts in Germany have provoked feelings of uncertainty and ignited debate regarding Europe‘s strategic future. As a part of our Summer 2026 issue, @henninghoff.bsky.social argues against the “new German military question”: ip-quarterly.com/en/there-no-...

From our new issue: @jbenford-berlin.bsky.social and @nvondarza.bsky.social write of strategic innovation in the wake of shifting security priorities. Read about Europe's growing number of defense agreements and the structural implications of this cooperation: ip-quarterly.com/en/eu-search...

Amid an international order fraught with shifting geopolitical alliances, understanding Europe‘s positionality is more important than ever. @pawelzerka.bsky.social writes about how the world sees Europe in our new Summer issue: ip-quarterly.com/en/eu-now-vi...

Our new issue features contributions from @pawelzerka.bsky.social @lucyaash.bsky.social @nvondarza.bsky.social @agathedemarais.com @henninghoff.bsky.social @josephdeweck.bsky.social @rebeccawire.bsky.social @fraghi.bsky.social @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social & more! ip-quarterly.com/en/ipq-summe...

Here is the cover of our Summer issue! Available on Tuesday, read contributions on the EU’s search for new partners from @jbenford-berlin.bsky.social, @nvondarza.bsky.social, @agathedemarais.com, Swati Prabhu, and Takahiro Tsuchiya.

NEW “The transatlantic alliance finds itself in paralysis.“ Gerlinde Niehus, who served at NATO for 25 years, assesses the state of the alliance ahead of the Ankara summit (July 7-8) as it faces threats from both outside and within.   ip-quarterly.com/en/natos-dam...

Ahead of the 2026 Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk tomorrow, Piotr Buras writes of a deteriorating Polish-Ukrainian relationship. #WarsawMemo President Zelensky’s decision to forgo the meeting deepens a rift with significant implications for European security. ip-quarterly.com/en/polish-uk...

Here is a preview of our summer issue! @josephdeweck.bsky.social details the serene atmosphere in France ahead of the 2027 election—and warns of a volatile, fractured future for French governance. ip-quarterly.com/en/enjoy-fre...

From our “The Future Shape of Europe” series: Ahead of the European Council meeting starting tomorrow and questions of EU enlargement looming, check out this article by Jeanette Süß of @ifri.bsky.social regarding France’s changing approach and domestic opposition. ip-quarterly.com/en/france-an...

What is ‘‘The Future Shape of Europe”? With the European Council meeting happening tomorrow—and negotiations of Ukraine and Moldova’s accession—check out @linnselle.bsky.social’s piece regarding the future of enlargement here: ip-quarterly.com/en/germany-n...

What does a “A World Order Minus One” look like? Amidst the start of the #G7 summit at Evian, do check out our summer issue of last year. Our contributors reflected on the state of an international order undermined by its biggest player: ip-quarterly.com/en/world-ord...

NEW in our The Future Shape of Europe series New European Formats Stir Old Ghosts With EU seeming averse to innovation, Jacob Ross looks into EU member states trying their luck (and their pursuing their own enlargement policy of sorts) by forming smaller formats. ip-quarterly.com/en/new-europ...

It’s remarkable in part as it shows real German leadership in a crucial question for the EU’s, and Europe’s, future. And it’s the most concrete proposal yet to solve a knotty problem quickly. The topic needs to be put back on the European Council’s 18 June agenda.

Remarkable. @politico.eu has published German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’ leaked proposals for an “associate” EU membership for Ukraine - just as @meistefan1.bsky.social described in @ipq.bsky.social on Monday… www.politico.eu/wp-content/u...

Super excited that we @dgap.org @ipq.bsky.social are launching a new article series on the intersection of EU enlargement and reform! We aim at looking at Berlin's stance but also how other member states perceive this debate 🇪🇺💪

This 2021 article by @lianafix.bsky.social is suddenly popular on our website; we wonder why ... ip-quarterly.com/en/end-merke...

🚀 Today sees the launch of our new "The Future Shape of Europe" series––in cooperation with the @dgap.org |s Europe Center! First two articles are up – by Linn Selle @linnselle.bsky.social and Stefan Meister @meistefan1.bsky.social ... 2/

Can a middle powers/internationalist coalition form between the Global North and South? New article for IPQ assess opportunity and limitatoins ip-quarterly.com/en/chances-m... @ipq.bsky.social @dgap.org

An "alliance of middle powers" is what Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney suggested in January in response to a Trumpian world. But as @barnabyjdye.bsky.social argues in this new essay, history suggests that forging such an alliance will be far from easy. ip-quarterly.com/en/chances-m...

Reducing reliance on Chinese critical minerals is the latest buzzword in America and Europe - in @ipq.bsky.social Daniel Gros and I argue that the US and the EU have a fast, cheap and effective option to tackle this challenge: setting up a critical minerals stockpile ip-quarterly.com/en/case-sett...

As Presidents Xi and Trump prepare for the their summit next week, @agathedemarais.com and Daniel Gros propose a simple way to counter China's chokehold over the supply of critical materials: The Europeans and their partners should be building stockpiles of them. ip-quarterly.com/en/case-sett...

Will today's elections in Scotland and Wales as well as council elections in England lead to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's defenestration? @johnkampfner.bsky.social looked into this in the IPQ spring issue and offered an assessment of possible replacements. ip-quarterly.com/en/keir-star...

Today, the Merz government marks its first year in office, but the mood isn't celebratory. There's a scarcity of new ideas tangible also when it comes to foreign policy. In the IPQ spring issue, our contributors look into this and make suggestions––check it out! ip-quarterly.com/en/spring-20...

Early start on Sunday: Just off talking to Julian Worricker/BBC World Service about Trump's announcement of US troops withdrawals from Germany. Bottom line: not dramatic (yet), but weakens NATO; questions about Merz' speaking off the cuff @dgap.org @ipq.bsky.social www.bbc.com/audio/schedu...

With each new Trumpian twist and turn, Merz has become more convinced that Europeans—and Germany in particular—need to find new partners around the world (in addition to the transatlantic alliance). Read @andreasrinke.bsky.social in our spring issue: ip-quarterly.com/en/middle-po...

The Christian Democrats have had a mixed start to this year’s regional votes. But for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the state of the Social Democrats is more worrying than a grab-bag of election results. @henninghoff.bsky.social's latest Berlin Cable: ip-quarterly.com/en/spds-losi...

The EU needs to take secure chemical supply chains more seriously, @fraghi.bsky.social writes in our spring issue. Right now, chemicals are a neglected part of Europe’s economic security. ip-quarterly.com/en/chemicals...

NEW: Great powers' use of regulatory heft, trade flows, and pure economic coercion as instruments of foreign policy has passed the highwater mark. Middle powers are likely to profit. Read @atlantikbruecke.bsky.social's Julia Friedlander: ip-quarterly.com/en/limits-gr...

New from @michaellaha.bsky.social: The EU should amend the Industrial Accelerator Act to incorporate an “information reciprocity” concept, and level the business information playing field with China. ip-quarterly.com/en/why-eu-ne...

Polish society is embroiled in culture wars—and museums are caught in the crosshairs. Read @lucyaash.bsky.social in our spring issue: ip-quarterly.com/en/polands-h...

Something to keep an eye on, from @johnkampfner.bsky.social: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a terrible first year in office, and things haven’t improved much since. A bad result for his Labour Party in elections on May 7 may well cut his political career short. ip-quarterly.com/en/keir-star...

Recommended reading

NEW: The Iran war started as a war of choice, but it is now morphing into one of necessity, @carnegieendowment.org's Karim Sadjadpour tells IPQ. Now, Europeans are facing a dilemma that is not of their making. ip-quarterly.com/en/its-europ...

The world is facing the end of an idealistic-normative approach to the international order. Germany needs to recalibrate its approach. New from Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Mark Speich: ip-quarterly.com/en/fast-forw...

Something to keep an eye on, from @johnkampfner.bsky.social: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a terrible first year in office, and things haven’t improved much since. A bad result for his Labour Party in elections on May 7 may well cut his political career short. ip-quarterly.com/en/keir-star...

With the logic of current US foreign policy solely based on power, the question for Europe is whether it can muster the strength, cohesion, and nerve required to shape whatever global order comes next. Wojciech Solak in our spring issue: ip-quarterly.com/en/trump-cor...

The Merz government is restructuring Germany’s foreign and security policy apparatus; it needs to find big solutions to big problems. But so far, @bressansar.bsky.social & Philipp Rotmann argue, these changes are happening too slowly and are not radical enough. ip-quarterly.com/en/merz-unfi...

One year on from Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a solid majority in Germany no longer trusts the United States. Opinions about what role the country should play in Europe, though, remain in flux. Read @koerber-ip.bsky.social's Jonathan Lehrer: ip-quarterly.com/en/germans-a...

The best time to prevent a crisis is before it happens. But which crisis, and how long do we have? Read @rebeccawire.bsky.social on Europe’s predicament: ip-quarterly.com/en/stuck-mid...

Poland's nationalist-populist Law and Justice (PiS) party has decided to make Poland’s attitude to the EU the country’s key political cleavage. This is unprecedented and dangerous. Read Piotr Buras, head of @ecfr.eu's Warsaw office, in our spring issue: ip-quarterly.com/en/poland-an...

Opinion: "For Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the key criterion for choosing them is whether they’re willing to abide by international rules", writes @andreasrinke.bsky.social at @ipq.bsky.social ip-quarterly.com/en/middle-po...

Germany is facing turbulent times, @fuecks.bsky.social writes. As such, those who craft its foreign policy should prepare for the unexpected. ip-quarterly.com/en/fast-forw...

With each new Trumpian twist and turn, Merz has become more convinced that Europeans—and Germany in particular—need to find new partners around the world (in addition to the transatlantic alliance). Read @andreasrinke.bsky.social in our spring issue: ip-quarterly.com/en/middle-po...

In our new issue, @wolfgangschmidt.bsky.social writes that he is uneasy with the state of Germany’s foreign and security policy debate, which too often ignores the economic foundations of policymaking and isolates good analysis within the foreign policy sphere. ip-quarterly.com/en/fast-forw...

Friedrich Merz claims to have a brand-new German foreign policy—but so far, there’s been more continuity than change with his government. What Berlin needs is a major strategy for protecting Europe’s security, @henninghoff.bsky.social argues in our new issue: ip-quarterly.com/en/german-fo...