Professor Sven Biscop

Professor Sven Biscop

Director of the Egmont Institute, Ghent University, College of Europe - Bruges

Foreign, Security and Defence Policy of the EU and its Member States

Biography

Professor Dr. Sven Biscop is currently the Director of the Egmont, Royal Institute of International Relations in Brussels. He obtained his degree in political science/public administration at Ghent University (Belgium) in 1998, winning the best thesis award for his work on European defence. Awarded the Paul-Henri Spaak PhD scholarship of the Fund for Scientific Research – Flanders, he defended his dissertation in 2002, published as Euro- Mediterranean Security: A Search for Partnership (Ashgate, 2003). Previously he was the director of the Europe in the World programme at Egmont – the Royal Institute for International Relations, the think tank associated with Belgian Foreign Affairs, which he joined in 2002. His research focuses on the foreign, security and defence policy of the European Union and its Member States. Sven also teaches at the Ghent University (since 2003) and at the College of Europe in Bruges (since 2007). He represents Egmont in the Higher Studies in Security and Defence, a course for security practitioners organized with the Belgian Royal Higher Institute for Defence, and is a member of the Executive Academic Board of the EU’s European Security and Defence College (ESDC). Sven chairs the jury of the annual European Defence Agency – Egmont PhD Prize in European Defence, Security & Strategy. Sven is a Senior Research Associate of the Centre for European Studies at the Renmin University of China (CESRUC) in Beijing (since 2010), and Associate Fellow of the Austria Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES) in Baden-bei-Wien (since 2011). He sits on the scientific councils of the Flemish Peace Institute (Brussels) and of the Institut d’Etudes Stratégiques de l’Ecole Militaire (IRSEM, Paris), and on the Strategic Advisors Group of the Atlantic Council (Washington). Member of the board of the Flemish United Nations Association, he also serves on the committee of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES). With Richard Whitman, Sven co-edits the European Strategy & Security book series for Routledge. He is the editor-in-chief of Egmont’s journal Studia Diplomatica and its Egmont Papers, and a member of the editorial board of the journals Internationale Spectator (Netherlands), European Security (UK), and The International Organisations Research Journal (Russia). His latest book is Grand Strategy in 10 Words – A Guide to Great Power Politics in the 21st Century (Bristol University Press, 2021). Sven has been honoured with the cross of Officer of the Order of the Crown of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Decoration of Honour of the Republic of Austria. He lives in Brussels with his Taiwanese-Belgian husband Aberu, amidst a great many books, military paraphernalia, and chinoiseries. Unfortunately they travel too often to keep a cat.

Books

Publications

Other Publications

  • Is Europe Ready for the Old Normal?, Sven Biscop, 2025
  • Disgrace in Washington, Decisions in London, Sven Biscop, 2025
  • Dit is een moment van grote beslissingen, en élke beslissing houdt het risico op oorlog met Rusland in, Sven Biscop, 2025
  • Door Europese soldaten naar Oekraïne te sturen, riskeren we oorlog met Rusland, maar dat risico is er sowieso, Sven Biscop, 2025
  • Europa, Rusland, China: is dat voor Donald Trump nu één pot nat?, Sven Biscop, 2025
  • How the EU can support Europe’s NATO, Sven Biscop, 2025
  • Ik behoud liefst mijn verzekering in de vorm van een NAVO zonder Rusland, maar met een Europese pijler die sterk genoeg is, Sven Biscop, 2025
  • Oorlog en vrede : immer nog een kwestie van realpolitik, Bookchapter in De hel van Azovstal : 82 dagen Oekraïens verzet in Marioepol, Sven Biscop, 2025
  • Trump’s Europe Policy: No longer Different from Russia and China?, Sven Biscop, 2025
  • Ukraine Now Needs a European Security Guarantee – Not a Peace Operation, Sven Biscop, 2025
  • EU Strategy 2025-2029: We Have the Instruments, Now Set the Objectives, Sven Biscop, 2024
  • Europa wilde niet denken over Oekraïne, Trump zal nu handelen, Sven Biscop, 2024
  • European defence : no Zeitenwende yet, Sven Biscop, A1 Journal Article in DEFENCE AND PEACE ECONOMICS, 2024
  • European defense, with or without the CSDP, Sven Biscop, Bookchapter in EU Common Security and Defense Policy. Quo Vadis? How European capitals understand CSDP, 2024
  • Gelooft het Westen werkelijk nog dat Oekraïne kan winnen?, Sven Biscop, 2024
  • If Russia “Protects” Transnistria, Will the EU Defend Moldova? And Georgia?, Sven Biscop, 2024
  • No End in Sight? The West, China, and the Russo-Ukrainian War, Sven Biscop, 2024
  • Not Another Geopolitical Commission, Please!, Sven Biscop, 2024
  • Not another geopolitical commission, please!, Sven Biscop, A4 Journal Article in Aspenia International, 2024
  • PESCO: The Last Chance, Sven BiscopBeatriz Cózar Murillo, 2024
  • PESCO: la última oportunidad, Sven BiscopBeatriz Cózar Murillo, 2024
  • The Coffee Machine, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2024
  • The EU and the Red Sea: now this is geopolitics, Sven Biscop, 2024
  • The European Union discovers geopolitics : consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sven Biscop, Bookchapter in The Palgrave handbook of contemporary geopolitics, 2024
  • The permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) of the European Union : means, ways, ends and tempo, Beatriz Cózar MurilloGuillem Colom PiellaSven Biscop, Dissertation, 2024
  • This is not a new world order : Europe rediscovers geopolitics, from Ukraine to Taiwan, Sven Biscop, Book, 2024
  • Ukraine: Europe Refused to Think, Now Trump Will Act, Sven Biscop, 2024
  • Zouden wij Limburg zomaar opgeven?, Sven Biscop, 2024
  • Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them : coping with war around Europe, Sven Biscop, Other, 2023
  • De Europese Unie en Oekraïne : niet langer onze buffer, maar onze grens, Sven Biscop, Article in a magazine, 2023
  • De estado tapón a estado fronterizo : la UE y el apoyo militar a Ucrania, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2023
  • EU military support for Ukraine : the time for half-measures is over, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2023
  • From buffer to frontier : Ukraine and the EU, Sven Biscop, Other, 2023
  • Het komt China niet slecht uit dat de Russische agressiviteit op haar limieten botst, Sven Biscop, Article in a magazine, 2023
  • Het leger heeft een territoriale reserve nodig, Sven Biscop, Article in a newspaper, 2023
  • How the war in Ukraine shapes the multipolar world, Sven Biscop, C3 Conference, 2023
  • Keeping it together? Realpolitik and solidarity in a multipolar world, Sven Biscop, Other, 2023
  • La boussole stratégique de l’Union Européenne : de la décision à la mise-en-œuvre, Sven Biscop, Bookchapter in L’année de la défense nationale 2024 : comprendre les orientations stratégiques dans un monde en recomposition, 2023
  • La guerra por Ucrania y el redescubrimiento de la geopolítica, Sven Biscop, Article in a magazine, 2023
  • My summer in Beijing, Sven Biscop, Other, 2023
  • Notre armée a besoin d’une réserve territoriale, Jonathan HolslagAlexander MattelaerSven BiscopTanguy Struye De SwielandeWannes Verstraete, Article in a newspaper, 2023
  • Regional actor, global player : can the EU get the best of both worlds?, Zachary PaikinShada IslamSven Biscop, Report, 2023
  • Samenwerking tussen de legers van de Lage Landen : een lichtend voorbeeld, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2023
  • Stop het politiek toerisme naar Taiwan, Sven Biscop, Article in a magazine, 2023
  • Strategic diplomacy : the Germany case : country report for the project on ‘strategic diplomacy for 21st century defence and statecraft’, Sven BiscopJochen Prantl, Report, 2023
  • The rediscovery of geopolitics, Sven Biscop, Other, 2023
  • Ukraine : the price of China’s neutrality, Sven Biscop, Report, 2023
  • Urgent, important, and our EU responsibility : military support for Ukraine, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2023
  • Visit Taiwan!, Sven Biscop, Other, 2023
  • War for Ukraine and the rediscovery of geopolitics : must the EU draw new battlelines or keep an open door?, Sven Biscop, Other, 2023
  • Wat echt op het spel staat nu Europa door oorlogen omringd is, Sven Biscop, Article in a magazine, 2023
  • We have to talk about (not Macron but) strategy, Sven Biscop, Other, 2023
  • 大国 探究21大国关系, Sven Biscop, Text translation, 2023
  • A European army for NATO?, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2022
  • A European defence summit in may 2022 : from compass to capabilities, Sven Biscop, Other, 2022
  • Als Moskou de gaskraan ooit dichtdraait, gaat ze nooit meer open : dat moet onze boodschap zijn, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2022
  • Bidens wereldvisie : voor Amerika, met Europa, tegen China, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2022
  • Biden’s national security strategy : three important truths for Europe, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2022
  • De Oorlog in Oekraïne : de noodzaak van het waarborgen van één wereld, Bart DesseinJasper RoctusSven Biscop, A4 Journal Article in GIDS OP MAATSCHAPPELIJK GEBIED, 2022
  • De Tank versus de bank : Russische militaire en Europese economische macht, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2022
  • De wereldorde houdt stand, maar niet vanzelf, Sven Biscop, Article in a newspaper, 2022
  • Emotionele drang om meer te doen voor Oekraïne is perfect verstaanbaar. Maar emotie is een slechte strategische raadgever, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2022
  • European defence : the full package, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2022
  • Geoeconomics : how great power competition is transforming the global economy, Tobias GehrkeSven BiscopFerdi De Ville, Dissertation, 2022
  • Heeft de EU in haar morele verontwaardiging, het zicht op de strategie verloren?, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2022
  • How the war in Ukraine shapes the multipolar world, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2022
  • Imperial preference, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2022
  • Is Putin winning, or is he trying not to lose?, Sven Biscop, Other, 2022
  • Kan de NAVO eindelijk een ‘normale’ alliantie worden door mogelijk Europees leger?, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2022
  • Military offensives, hybrid attacks : and no peace in sight, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2022
  • Poetin creëert de multipolaire wereld die hij (dacht dat hij) wilde, Sven BiscopBart DesseinJasper Roctus, Article in a magazine, 2022
  • Putin is creating the multipolar world he (thought he) wanted, Sven BiscopBart DesseinJasper Roctus, Report, 2022
  • Rusland en Oekraïne : een gevaarlijk zwaktebod van een militaire supermacht, Sven Biscop, Article in a magazine, 2022
  • Russia invades Ukraine : the dangerous weakness of a military superpower, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2022
  • Sabotage drijft nu onze gasprijzen op, maar op termijn snijdt dit vooral in Ruslands vel, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2022
  • Strategic autonomy : not without integration, Sven Biscop, Report, 2022
  • Strategic partnership as deterrence? Japan’s defense engagement in the evolving international security order, Nanae BaldauffSven Biscop, Dissertation, 2022
  • Tanks versus banks : Russian military versus EU geoeconomic power, Bernard Siman, Sven Biscop, Tobias Gehrke, Report, 2022
  • The EU and Ukraine : strategy and morality, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2022
  • The EU’s role in security and defence : still indispensable, Sven Biscop, Bookchapter in Facing war : rethinking Europe’s security and defence : ISPI report, 2022
  • The EU’s strategic compass : how to translate it into capabilities?, Sven Biscop, A4 Journal Article in MEDITERRANEAN YEARBOOK, 2022
  • The growing pains of Belgium’s armed forces, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2022
  • The new force model : NATO’s European army?, Sven Biscop, Workingpaper, 2022
  • The world order holds : for now, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2022
  • Ukraine : le prix de la stabilité, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2022
  • Ukraine : the price of stability, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2022
  • Voor een progressieve realpolitik, Sven Biscop, A4 Journal Article in SAMENLEVING EN POLITIEK (BRUSSEL), 2022
  • Voor het eerst sinds de Koude Oorlog staat de Belgische defensie niet meer op een hongerdieet, Sven Biscop, Article in a newspaper, 2022
  • Vragen dat er een einde komt aan de Orde van Leopold II, is vragen dat we de duizenden Belgische soldaten vergeten, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2022
  • Xi Jinping seeks stability : the 20th National Congress of the CCP, Bart DesseinJasper, RoctusSven Biscop, Workingpaper, 2022
  • 20 years of counter-terrorism in Belgium : explaining change in CT policy-making through the evolution of the Belgian CT doctrine and practice since 2001, Thomas Renard, Sven Biscop, Dissertation, 2021
  • AUKUS and the EU : a snub for the bloc?, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2021
  • Afghanistan : the end of a strategic distraction, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2021
  • Afghanistan is niet alleen een mislukking, maar erger : een overbodige mislukking, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2021
  • Analysing the EU global strategy on foreign and security policy, Sven Biscop, Bookchapter in Handbook on CSDP : the common security and defence policy of the, European Union, 2021
  • Belgian defence : put your trust in people, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2021
  • Biden and Europe, values and interests, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2021
  • Biden op bezoek: vijf dingen om zeker te doen in Brussel, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2021
  • Biden’s visit : 5 must-do’s in Brussels, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2021
  • Biden, NATO and the EU : who deals with China, and who with Russia?, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2021
  • Come on, Biden, let’s talk!, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2021
  • Comment lire le rapport du Comité stratégique de la Défense belge, Sven BiscopNina WilénJonathan Holslag, Newsarticle, 2021
  • Crying wolf will not help Taiwan, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2021
  • Defensie bestaat uit mensen : net het aspect dat jarenlang politiek verwaarloosd werd, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2021
  • EU and NATO : time to align strategies, Sven Biscop, A4 Journal Article in THE DEFENCE HORIZON JOURNAL, 2021
  • EU and NATO Strategy : a compass, a concept, and a concordat, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2021
  • EU strategy : resolutely moderate, Sven Biscop, Other, 2021
  • EU-China : drop the masks, back to real diplomacy, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2021
  • EU–Asia security relations in a global context : geoeconomics and geopolitics, Mark Beeson, Sven Biscop, Bookchapter in The European Union’s security relations with Asian partners, 2021
  • Eine Verteidigungsstrategie für die Europäische Union, Sven Biscop, Bookchapter in Der Strategische Kompass der Europäischen Union : Ziele, Perspektiven und Chancen für Österreich, 2021
  • Grand strategy in 10 words : a guide to great power politics in the 21st century, Sven Biscop, Book, 2021
  • Het Capitool en de Reichstag, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2021
  • Hoe de grootmachten de koers van de wereldpolitiek bepalen : grand strategy in 10 kernwoorden, Sven Biscop, Book, 2021
  • Kill the battlegroups, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2021
  • La llegada de Biden y la autonomía de la Unión Europea, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2021
  • Moet het westen overal de democratie verspreiden?, Sven Biscop, Article in a magazine, 2021
  • Mogherini and the Holy Grail : the quest for European strategic autonomy, Sven Biscop, Bookchapter in The making of European security policy : between institutional dynamics and global challenges, 2021
  • Mort aux groupements tactiques de l’Union européenne!, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2021
  • Samenwerken waar het kan, terugduwen waar het moet, Sven Biscop, Article in a newspaper, 2021
  • The Capitol and the Reichstag, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2021
  • The EU and China : sanctions, signals, and interests, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2021
  • The EU’s strategic choices for the 2020s, Sven Biscop, Bookchapter in Asia and Europe in the 21st century : new anxieties, new opportunities, 2021
  • The Strategic Compass : entering the fray, Sven Biscop, Other, 2021
  • The coordination problem in European defence planning, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2021
  • The lonely strategist : who but the High Representative and the EEAS cares about the EU Global Strategy?, Sven Biscop, A2 Journal Article in EUROPEAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REVIEW, 2021
  • The strategic committee on Belgian defence : how to read the report, Sven Biscop, Nina Wilén, Jonathan Holslag, Editorial material, 2021
  • Welke lessen trekken uit bezoek Biden aan EU en Poetin?, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2021
  • What Belgium can do : proposals for the national security strategy, Sven Biscop, Nina, Wilén, Newsarticle, 2021
  • World politics in 2021: infected by rivalry, Sven Biscop, Blog post, 2021
  • Διαφοροποιημενη ολοκληρωση στην αμυνα : έκκληση προς την PESCO, Sven Biscop, A4 Journal Article in ΣΤΡΑΤΙΩΤΙΚΗ ΕΠΙΘΕΩΡΗΣΗ = STRATIOTIKI EPITHEORISI, 2021
  • 欧洲再次旧力量、新未来, Sven Biscop, Book, 2021
  • Battalions to brigades : the future of European defence, Sven Biscop, A1 Journal Article in SURVIVAL, 2020
  • Coronavirus and power : the impact on international politics, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2020
  • Dealing with Russia : towards a coherent Belgian policy, Didier Audenaert, Sven Biscop, Fabienne Bossuyt, Tom Casier, Marc Franco, Aude Merlin, Ria Laenen, Report, 2020
  • European defence and Pesco : don’t waste the chance, Sven Biscop, Other, 2020
  • Foreword : connectivity with consent, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2020
  • In the desert or at sea? Securing Europe’s southern flank, Sven Biscop, Other, 2020
  • No peace from corona : defining EU strategy for the 2020s, Sven Biscop, A1 Journal Article in JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, 2020
  • The ESDC : a tool for strategy-making, Sven Biscop, Bookchapter in The European Security and Defence College and its contribution to the common security and defence culture : a 15 year journey, 2020
  • The future of the transatlantic alliance: not without the European Union, Sven Biscop, A2 Journal Article in Strategic Studies Quarterly, 2020
  • Trump, the Middle East and North Africa : just leave things to the proxies?, Sven Biscop, Newsarticle, 2020
  • Weaker together or weaker apart? Great power relations after the coronavirus, Sven Biscop, Editorial material, 2020