Onero Institute
European Regional Program

Sapna Suresh

A viral 2025 handshake snub between Erdoğan and Macron symbolizes the deepening France-Türkiye rivalry rooted in centuries-old ties but strained by disputes over Armenia, Libya, and the Eastern Mediterranean, reflecting diverging geopolitical ambitions and influence in regional affairs.

Isobel Williamson

In March 2025, Hungary’s Fidesz government banned LGBTQ+ assemblies, imposed gender restrictions, and enabled AI surveillance, signaling escalating authoritarianism. The law reflects Orban’s election-driven scapegoating, defiance of the EU, and increasing alignment with Russia—threatening EU unity, democracy, and minority rights across Europe.

Andrea Radoman

Germany’s immigration policy, shaped by historical labor needs and recent refugee crises, has led to rising tensions, nationalist backlash, and crime concerns, prompting stricter reforms and calls for controlled borders.

Luca Guerzoni

Imperial legacies, fascist symbolism, and post-communist disillusionment fueled the nationalist resurgence in the 2025 Romanian elections. Historical grievances, Orthodox identity, and anti-Western sentiment shaped voter behavior and facilitated the rise of far-right politics.

Olivia Tobolski

The Lebensborn Program in Nazi Germany aimed to promote the “Aryan race,” favoring blonde, blue-eyed Germans over other ethnicities. Its legacy still shapes European racial dynamics, with some modern anti-immigration parties echoing its rhetoric.

Irene Bonzi

The prevalence of national sovereignties over the European Defense Community project dramatically shaped the nature of the European Union today.

Olivia Tobolski

Poland is facing a border crisis, accusing Belarus of using migrants as a political tool. To combat this influx of people, it has heavily armed the border and introduced legislation that may strain its relationship with the EU, known for its welcoming immigration laws.

Jorge Braceras

Facing shifting U.S. priorities and rising global tensions, Europe debates adopting France’s strategic autonomy model to reduce reliance on NATO, aiming to build a unified, independent defense strategy despite internal divisions.

Jorge Braceras

Mussolini’s intervention in the Spanish Civil War was driven less by ideological alignment and more by strategic ambitions in the Western Mediterranean, anti-communist fears, and the pursuit of alliances with Franco and Hitler.

Sapna Suresh

Washington’s attacks on the transatlantic alliance have led Europeans to seek partners elsewhere, especially in the Indo-Pacific. To strengthen cooperation, the EU should emphasize its commitment to multilateralism, rather than human rights. 

Madeline G. Schulz

Much of the world can agree that the solution for peaceful governance that upholds the rights of the people lies in democratic government.  However differing opinions arise when it comes to approaching the formation of new democracies.

Konstantinos Gkikas

Lest the European Union wish to become the new Austria-Hungary, it seems incumbent to recognize that if she doesn’t take an active role in shaping the world, others will shape it for her and against her.

Larissa Iannella Oliveira

This paper explores how AI is transforming energy security on both sides of the Atlantic, optimizing legacy and renewable energy systems, enhancing grid resilience, and supporting decarbonization efforts. It emphasizes the importance of U.S.-EU cooperation in leveraging AI for a sustainable, secure energy future.

Beatrice Ehrhardt

The Minsk Accords failed to bring a lasting solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Ten years later, Europe is stepping up to provide security guarantees for Ukraine and ensure greater strategic autonomy.

Evelina Kynigopoulos

The EU's approach to enlargement is strategic, yet Turkey's bid faces resistance. This article examines how history, culture, and politics influence several EU member states's views on Turkey’s membership.

Logan Hall

Western weapons manufacturers, including Italy’s Beretta and Austria’s Glock, exploit loopholes to supply Russia despite sanctions. Companies use intermediaries in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia to smuggle arms. Embargo circumvention enables Russian forces to access Western-made weapons, prompting calls for stricter enforcement to curb illicit arms flows.

Elek Krizsán

Russia has developed a comprehensive strategy to withstand and adapt to Western sanctions, involving immediate retaliatory actions, state support, and long-term efforts to reduce economic dependence on the West. By reviewing Russia’s sanctions response strategies, this article seeks to provide policymakers with insight into the strategies adversaries employ to counteract the effects of economic statecraft.

Antoine Felitti

Hungary’s nationalist policies under Viktor Orbán have strained EU relations, driven by historical resistance to foreign influence. This article examines Hungary’s ideological defiance, its shifting alliances, and the broader implications of its divergence from European democratic norms.

Beatrice Ehrhardt

Germany’s ‘traffic light’ coalition collapsed in November, triggering an upcoming snap election in February. Many fear the rise of the radical AfD, and Germany faces an uncertain future as the election nears.

Sapna Suresh

Modi's France visit highlights Indo-French strategic ties, shared objectives of autonomy, historical links, and economic ties. France’s acceptance of India’s diverging stance towards Russia reaffirms the importance of bilateral diplomacy over multilateralism.

Sapna Suresh

One of the many things far-right parties across the West have in common is espousing xenophobic rhetoric. However, each far-right party differs based on the local context, such as the differences in religion between France’s and America’s far-right. The American far-right seeks to promote Christianity to protect American culture from immigrants, whereas the French far-right seeks to uphold secularism to preserve French culture.

Elek Krizsán

The expiration of the Russia-Ukraine gas transit deal—which will cut Russian gas flow to Europe by 30%, from an already reduced 35% of 2021 levels—underscores Europe's structural and political challenges in fully eliminating reliance on Russian energy.

Larissa Iannella Oliveira

Brexit catalyzed the EU's climate policy evolution, fostering stronger internal cohesion and ambitious initiatives like the European Green Deal. Despite challenges like fragmented carbon markets, Brexit ultimately strengthened the EU's global climate leadership and innovation.

Charlie Poulos

Greece’s victory over Italy in the Greco-Italian War (1940-41) was driven by strategic use of geography, harsh weather, and national unity to counter Italy’s technological and numerical advantages, demonstrating the critical role of spatiality and logistical disruption in military success.

Francis Stafilopatis 

Putinism’s flexible, anti-Western system sustains Russian authoritarianism through contradictory narratives—religious conservatism and Eurasianism—while NATO’s failure to counter these narratives has emboldened Russian aggression. NATO must reject appeasement, delegitimize Putinism, and prioritize Ukraine’s defense to preserve Western security.

Lara Gila

A European Defense Force is needed to enhance EU autonomy amid geopolitical threats like Russian aggression and terrorism. Coordination challenges, reliance on non-EU suppliers, and diverging national priorities abound. Frameworks like PESCO and EDF can strengthen EU defense, complement NATO, and achieve strategic independence and global influence.

Pauline Perrotin

Long marked by political and economic tensions, New Caledonia has been the scene of violent conflict since May 2024. A conflict that may well open the archipelago to self-determination, while significantly threatening French sovereignty over this territory. 

Stanislaw Biskupski 

A challenge to cohesion for a geopolitical vision across Europe and the west is populism. Left-wing populism is unfamiliar in its origins and topicality for those who seek to understand this issue. In Germany, leftist populism has found sureness and lucidity against the liberal world order to the benefit of Russia.

Conrad Goerl

Shifting Sands: Land Legislation and Imperial Strategy in the Macedonian Dynasty examines how Byzantine emperors like Romanos I and Basil II used land laws as tools for social reform, military stability, and control over elite power, reflecting evolving governance priorities.

Antoine Felitti 

In October 2024, North Korea sent troops to be trained in Russia with some already deployed in the new theaters of operations in Ukraine. The arrival of North Korean troops in Europe illustrates the continual internationalization of the conflict as well as its new dynamics, announcing a potential large Russian offensive, but also raises questions on what incentivizes Pyongyang to take action in Ukraine.   

Beatrice Ehrhardt

Ten years since the referendum, Scotland still awaits a second chance at independence. The 2016 Brexit decision and subsquent attacks on devolution have increased support for a split from England, but a Labour victory in the recent UK election has signaled that the SNP and independence might have lost some backing - for now.

Eva Mulholland

Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine have had a detrimental impact on the respect of arms control treaties between Russia and the United States. There is a need for the U.S. to formulate a plan to reinstate these agreements in the aftermath of the Ruso-Ukrainian war and eventual leadership change in Russia. To do so, the United States must evaluate Cold-War era efforts to foster communication.

Sapna Suresh

France is increasingly interested in engaging with the increasingly important Global South. However, its appeal in the Global South varies depending on the country, with some perceiving France as a partner against American hegemony, and others as a neo-colonial and imperialistic power.

Surya Ambatipudi

A strained relationship between the European Union and Turkey arrives as a result of political and ideological disagreements between the EU’s governing body and Turkey’s President Erdoğan. Uncertainty between the two must be circumvented to secure peace and prosperity in both Europe and the Middle East. 

Elek Krizsán

Though tactical and situational causes contribute to an explanation of why Marshal Wellington prevailed at Waterloo, geographic and climatic causes must not be overlooked.

Luca Guerzoni

Despite sanctions and efforts to diversify energy sources, Europe has not fully decoupled from Russian gas. Indirect purchases through third-party countries, long-term contracts, and Russia's shadow fleet enable Russian energy to continue flowing into Europe via complex, covert channels.

Raihan Choudhury

Instead of reinforcing civic solidarity, the ban on wearing abayas in French public schools based on the principle of lacite undermines civic solidarity as it ends up isolating French Muslims from French society. France can develop genuine civic solidarity by imbuing social policy with cosmopolitan conduct.

Saiyam Shah

Denmark’s electricity market, dominated by renewable energy—particularly wind power—faces grid reliability challenges due to wind variability. Denmark should expand wind capacity, modernize the grid, invest in storage, and collaborate regionally to ensure a stable, sustainable energy future.

Chaewon Hong

The Russia-Ukraine War has strengthened Russia-North Korea ties, leading to military and economic cooperation, mutual sanctions evasion, and heightened concerns about regional security and destabilization of international peace efforts

Todd Meltzer

A far-right wave washing over Europe: Fears of immigration, economic instability, and the erosion of national identity.

Luca Guerzoni

Visiting Bosnia and North Macedonia this summer showed me the impacts of decades of ethnic segregation and hate among ethnic groups. This experience pushed me to analyze the reconciliation process in the two countries.

Matt Trunkey

In 1938, Nazi Germany annexed Austria, and France and the UK pursued appeasement, sacrificing Czechoslovakia. Despite these efforts, war erupted in 1939. The failure of appeasement still echoes in the collective memory of Western diplomacy.

Kate Capparelle

The EU Deforestation Regulation aims to curb deforestation by limiting trade of certain goods, which some South American and Southeast Asian nations find concerning. In implementing the regulation, the EU must balance economic and environmental impacts.

Zenisha Arora

Turkey's controversial withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention complicates nation's stance on women's rights and combating domestic violence. The decision highlights the tension between international human rights standards and Turkey's national sovereignty.

Moss Gillespie

Meloni, hosting this year’s G7, wanted attending nations to turn south towards Africa. Meloni cleverly leveraged her role as host to sweeten Western economies’ taste of her grand strategy for Africa: The Mattei plan.

Matt Trunkey

Many analysts have drawn comparisons between Georgia’s and the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine. While there are some various similarities, there are key distinctions.

Kate Capparelle

France’s far-right National Rally (RN) has captured widespread attention after winning a decisive 31.4% of the vote in the European parliamentary elections.

Luca Guerzoni

By passing the Foreign Agent Law, Georgia is not choosing to become a pro-Russia satellite nor is it choosing to abandon its aspiration of becoming a EU and NATO member. Georgia is choosing its sovereignty and its stability.

Sahib Singh

In the initial phase of the Ukraine war, combat consisted of uncoordinated skirmishes with limited strategic use of technology. However, as the conflict has progressed, it has evolved into a battleground for intricate and sophisticated drone dogfights.

Nick Dohr

With a tumultuous tenure in office, Macron’s latest gambit has thrown French politics into upheaval, and may yet end poorly for the French President.

Todd Meltzer

In early 2024, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds to midnight, marking the closest approach to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis. The world is on a precipice, and we must remain vigilant.

Luca Guerzoni

As the US and EU focus elsewhere, Italy and Turkey have increased cooperation in the Mediterranean. Despite differing foreign policy objectives, they share an interest in stabilizing Libya and playing a more active role in the Mediterranean’s security.

Kate Capparelle

Though the latest United States Human Rights Report praises the government’s recent strides toward reform, there continue to be obstacles to accessing sexual and reproductive health services.

Kate Capparelle

Russia is Estonia’s greatest security threat to Estonia, as driven by its geographical proximity, societal integration challenges with Estonia’s Russian minority, and rising cyber threats.

Kate Capparelle

Following Germany’s unification in 1871, censorship legislation has shifted significantly. What has been the effect of Germany’s censorship laws on Germany’s modern understanding of free speech?