Geopolitical Europe Summer Reading List

9 July 2025

“I’ll add this to my summer reading list when days are calmer” is probably a sentence many of us have said already at least once in our lives. And what’s better than spending a day with a book and taking the time to read (or re-read) longer writing on European security, defence, and Europe’s role as a geopolitical actor?

The Geopolitical Europe Summer Reading List has you covered for this case. The following compilation features longer policy reads (such as policy briefs or longer analyses), research articles, and books on four key topics: European security and defence, Europe as a geopolitical actor, Europe and China/ the Indo-Pacific, and grand strategy.

Happy reading!

Europe in the world/ the EU as a geopolitical actor

Policy read: For Europe, US Retrenchment Is Not a Threat, but an Opportunity, by Moritz Graefrath

The article argues that the potential end of US hegemony in Europe “paves the way for Europe to become an autonomous player on the geopolitical stage” and that it “creates an environment where inter-European cooperation on defense becomes more feasible”. The author also illustrates how Europe could embrace a post-American Europe instead of fearing it.

Research article: Advancing a geopolitical Europe: the new EU leadership and the Iranian conundrum, by Amin Naeni & Christian Kaunert, International Affairs, 101 (2), March 2025, 665–675

The article was published before the recent escalation between Israel and Iran and the subsequent US strikes on Iran, but is still worth a re-read. The authors illustrate the misalignment between the EU’s geopolitical ambitions and its Iran policy and conclude that “EU leadership needs to define clear geopolitical objectives and establish effective enforcement mechanisms through its diplomatic, political and economic assets”.

Book: Europe in an Era of US-China Strategic Rivalry, Challenges and Opportunities from an Outside-in Perspective, Sebastian Biba (Springer, 2024)

This book presents the major challenges and opportunities for Europe in the context of intensifying US-China rivalry. What is special is that the book is written from the perspective of contributors from or based in the United States and China, who examine the European position in the areas of security, geopolitics, geoeconomics, global governance, development, and climate change. The book therefore provides a thought-provoking and refreshing “outside-in” perspective on Europe’s position and stakes in US-China competition.

European security and defence

Policy read: What if Hell Breaks Loose? Imagining a post-American Europe, by Luis Simón and Lotje Boswinkel

The policy brief presents four ideal-type scenarios for changes in US force posture in Europe: “Europe on its own”, “cut to the bone”, “status quo minus” and “residual but strategically significant presence”, and discusses the implications of each scenario for command and control, extended nuclear deterrence and conventional warfighting. Conclusion: “Work for the best, plan for the worst.”

Policy read II: How must Europe reorganise its conventional defence? by Sophia Besch

The article provides a deep-dive into the existing gaps in European conventional defence (troop numbers and deployability, critical enablers, and ammunition) and how Europe can best tackle these gaps through defence industrial tools and political strategy. It’s a concise yet very detailed overview on the current state and future risks (and opportunities) of European conventional defence.

Book: Who will defend Europe? An Awakened Russia and a Sleeping Continent, by Keir Giles (Hurst, 2025)

In this book, Keir Giles warns that Europe's leaders must make difficult choices to rebuild and defend the continent’s security and defence as American support wanes, with new leadership urgently needed.

Europe and Indo-Pacific

Research article/ policy read: Hanging Together or Hanging Separately? Europe and the Indo-Pacific in United States-China Rivalry, by Luis Simón, Daniel Fiott, Octavian Manea, Zack Cooper and Toshi Yoshihara(CSDS In-Depth Paper)

This 45-page in-depth paper examines the links between strategic dynamics in Europe and the Indo-Pacific and their implications for US strategy and the implications for its allies in both regions. Most importantly, it discusses the repercussions of these dynamics for key Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific actors such as Australia, Europe, Japan, South Korea and more.

Research article: Bridges across regions: the effects of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific cooperation on European security architectures, by Gorana Grgic, International Politics, 2025 (online first)

This article explores Europe's evolving security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, highlighting new bilateral and multilateral partnerships shaped by shifting threat perceptions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It analyses who benefits from these initiatives, how they are organised, and how they impact the European security architecture. It distinguishes between efforts reinforcing “shopping malls” and “tree houses”.

Book: The Diplomatic Making of EU-China Relations: Structure, Substance and Style, by Lucie Qian Xia (Routledge, 2024)

This book challenges the conventional values-versus-interests debate in EU–China relations by introducing a new theoretical model that emphasizes the relational and intentional dimensions of diplomacy. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, interviews, and newly disclosed documents, it offers a nuanced analysis of EU–China cooperation—especially in climate and agricultural trade—and presents the complexities and opportunities in shaping future relations.

Europe and grand strategy

Policy read: The enduring relevance of realism for grand strategy in Europe, Geopolitical Europe/ Gesine Weber

This piece — which was the most loved by Geopolitical Europe readers in the first months of the year — provides an overview of the recent evolution of realism as an explanatory approach for European integration after the Cold War and presents the difference between its application in academic analyses and the use of realist terms in everyday language. It then argues that there is a good case to be made to apply realism more widely as theoretical guidance for elaborating a European grand strategy.

Research article: Best practices in grand strategy design — Marina Henke (2025), Texas National Security Review 8 (2), Spring 2025, 97-108

This article argues that skepticism among policymakers about grand strategy being overly academic is misplaced. It presents a five-step framework, rooted in both theory and practice, to help practitioners craft more effective, coherent, and actionable strategies grounded in real-world policy challenges.

Book: Grand strategy in 10 words, Sven Biscop (Bristol University Press, 2021)

This book introduces ten key concepts for understanding how major actors (like the US, China, EU, Russia) formulate their grand strategies and demonstrates how strategic choices shape the global order. Albeit published before the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the book is worth a read because of the concise overview of major subject and debates in grand strategy.