Whither national security? Comparing the strategies in the era of geopolitical confrontations

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• GGP: Global Governance Programme

The 2023 annual conference of the EU Asia project will explore the future of national security in the era of geopolitical conflicts

The 2023 annual conference of the EU Asia Project at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, will explore the future of national security in the era of geopolitical conflicts. There is a need for a serious review and update of our prior thinking, both as regards the threats we face and also how to confront them.

With Sino-American hegemonic rivalries intensifying, and in the midst of the Russian war waged against Ukraine, the EU and the Pentagon established, respectively, a strategic compass and the national defence strategy in March 2022. These were followed in June by a thoroughly revised strategic concept of NATO. The White House published its latest national security strategy in the autumn, while Japan completed its revision of such a strategy in late 2022.

In view of these developments, both in the fields of actual political processes and of strategic planning, this conference compares security strategies in order to examine the commonalities and differences. In so doing, we will better understand new concepts and trends as well as explore what challenges lie ahead in the next decade.

N.B. Kindly note the afternoon session is by invitation only.