Geopolitical Europe Pulse: bringing IR theory into foreign policy
23 May 2025
Challenges of global amplitude and shifts in the global order have multiplied and accelerated in recent years, and so is European thinking about these phenomena and how to address them. The Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s war against Ukraine, the changing dynamics in US foreign policy following the re-election of Donald Trump, China’s changing role in the global order, increasingly active middle powers across all realms of international affairs, a profound reshuffling of regional dynamics in the Middle East, new concerns about global and regional nuclear proliferation… you name it, the list goes on.
However, it seems that those in charge of developing compelling and encompassing strategies are often more looking for than finding answers to these questions. Scholars of International Relations (IR) can make a good case to argue that turning to IR theory and the theory of grand strategy can help guide this thinking on real-world challenges. That is why this week’s edition of the Geopolitical Europe Pulse brings you a compilation of articles on the relevance of international relations theory in the elaboration of foreign policy and grand strategy.
Bridging the gap: Over decades, scholars and practitioners have discussed how the divide between theory and practice could be narrowed — and the debate goes on. In 2022, Francis J. Gavin offered an optimistic take on this topic in “The Gap has been bridged!”, but also offers a word of caution: “In truth, these differences between the worlds that professors and policymakers inhabit are probably impossible to fully bridge. But that isn’t necessarily bad. We don’t want these worlds ever to get too cozy with each other, and a certain level of conflict, both within and between these vocations, serves a useful purpose.”
Zoom on the UK: The UK seems to be in a particularly delicate position right now with the need to balance its relationships with the US and the EU, whilst also facing the same dilemma as other European states in NATO — namely the one of a hegemon which is difficult to manage. Gustav Meibauer and myself argue that the literature on small states and a neorealist perspective can help navigate this challenge.
Concrete steps for grand strategy: How can Europeans (re)invent grand strategy? And more generally, what are the necessary steps for crafting a coherent strategy? The article “Best Practices in Grand Strategy Design” presents a five-step implementation framework.
And if things go wrong? In this case, IR theory can constitute an approach to correct mistakes, as argued by Thomas Juneau in “Neoclassical Realism as a Theory for Correcting Mistakes: What State X Should Do Next Tuesday”.