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The JAUKUS Option Revisited: Will Japan Join AUKUS under the Takaichi Administration? — The JAUKUS Option Revisited: Will Japan Join AUKUS under the Takaichi Administration?

Daisuke Akimoto writes that the establishment of JAUKUS has been politically unrealistic during the Kishida and Ishiba governments. However, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in coalition with Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), would facilitate Japan’s collaboration with AUKUS even more than previous administrations. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Takaichi, literally swallowed the demands by Nippon Ishin no Kai based on its hardline policies, including its hawkish foreign and security policy, writes Akimoto. Read this piece here.

The US wants a Europe-led NATO. Europeans should start planning it — The US wants a Europe-led NATO. Europeans should start planning it

Rachel Ellehuus and Anna Wieslander write in a commentary for EURACTIVE that the political heat between NATO allies over Greenland may have cooled for now, but Europeans should be wary of thinking that stability will prevail. They argue that the major lesson of the Greenland crisis is that shifting national interests between the US and Europe call for a European-led NATO sooner than previously envisioned, and even a five-to-ten-year transition may be optimistic. The newly released US National Defense Strategy, which calls for European allies to assume primary responsibility for Europe’s conventional defence, supports this claim, write Ellehuus and Wieslander. Read this piece here. As European leaders take to the podium at the Munich Security Conference this week, it is time they move beyond talk and get to work.

Corridors of Culture, Routes of Power: CPEC in Xi’s GCI — Corridors of Culture, Routes of Power: CPEC in Xi’s GCI

Jagannath Panda writes that after almost three years on hold, the foreign ministers of China and Pakistan recently announced plans to advance construction of the upgraded China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), agreeing to broaden collaboration in industry, agriculture, mining, and green energy. The question that arises is whether China is exporting infrastructure or a worldview? The author writes that as Beijing speaks the language of civilizational respect and mutual learning, its roads, ports, and pipelines continue to reshape South Asia’s political economy. At the heart of this paradox sits Xi Jinping’s Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), which asserts a commitment to dialogue over dominance, operating in tandem with the hard steel and soft loans of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Read and download this piece here.

The Future of Korean Research from a Nordic Perspective — The Future of Korean Research from a Nordic Perspective

The ISDP Korea Center had, once again in 2025-2026, the pleasure of welcoming four young professionals from different Nordic nations with diverse professional backgrounds as part of the program. During the training program, the participants attended a three-day session in Stockholm, where they received lectures from leading academics, policy analysts, and diplomats from the Nordic countries, Europe, and South Korea. Following the three-day training session, each participant was allocated a senior mentor with relevant experience in their research topic. This booklet is thus a compilation of the participants’ research and the culmination of the Nordic-Korea Next Generation Training Program. Read and download the Special paper here.

What Sweden’s Cold War Strategy Can Teach South Korea in an Era of Alliance Fracture — What Sweden’s Cold War Strategy Can Teach South Korea in an Era of Alliance Fracture

This piece by Ju Hyung Kim analyses how Sweden’s Cold War experience offers an unexpectedly precise historical parallel for South Korea. He writes that throughout the Cold War period, Sweden maintained its official posture of military non-alignment. Nevertheless, this stance was never synonymous with passivity or equidistance between different blocs. Swedish leaders extracted hard lessons from the early twentieth century, particularly from the rapid collapse of neutrality guarantees during the Second World War and the Soviet Union’s coercion vis-à-vis Finland. As a result, Sweden developed a strategic model that combined value alignment with operational independence, and such experiences must be seriously considered in South Korea. Read the piece here.

How the Nordic-Baltic states became Europe’s reliable security engine — How the Nordic-Baltic states became Europe’s reliable security engine

This piece by Anna Wieslander and Louise Blomqvist that when US President Donald Trump escalated the Greenland crisis in early January by insisting on US ownership of the island and not ruling out military force, Denmark quickly received support from its Nordic and Baltic neighbors. This was no coincidence. Over just a few years, the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8)—Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—has become far more proactive and agile in shaping European security policy. The authors argue that unity matters, and strong joint statements matter too. But in a European security debate characterized by constant declarations and uneven follow-through, matching words with action is what has truly built credibility for this Northern European forum, writes Wieslander and Blomqvist.

Shifting Balances in South Asia — Shifting Balances in South Asia

This joint dossier between the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs of the ISDP and ISPI in Italy explores how rivalry between India and China is redefining South Asia’s strategic landscape, from the stalled Himalayan border dispute to growing competition for influence through political backing, infrastructure, and energy investments. Edited by Nicola Missaglia, Jagannath Panda, and Michele Danesi, this joint publication examines the strategies of New Delhi and Beijing and how key countries in the region balance their relationships with both powers. The analysis also looks beyond regional dynamics, assessing the role of external actors such as the European Union and Japan. Read and download this dossier here.

Events »

19 Feb

Silk Cage Series – Webinar II: Corridor, Client, or Catalyst? CPEC and Beijing’s Strategic Leverage from Pakistan to the Indian Ocean
5 Mar

Silk Cage Series – Webinar III: Corridors, Coasts, and Contestation: China’s Influence Operations in the Bay of Bengal and the BCIM Space

Publications »

The US wants a Europe-led NATO. Europeans should start planning it

Rachel Ellehuus and Anna Wieslander

The Future of Korean Research from a Nordic Perspective

Josephine Ørgaard Rasmussen

How the Nordic-Baltic states became Europe’s reliable security engine

Anna Wieslander and Louise Blomqvist

Shifting Balances in South Asia

Nicola Missaglia, Jagannath Panda and Michele Danesi

Building Bridges Through Sports: Opportunities for Sweden – Taiwan Collaboration: Digital Taiwan Lecture Series Report

Yi-Chieh Chen and Federica Bagna

Security Choices for the Republic of China (Taiwan) and their Implications

ISDP Spotlight

The Nordic-Korea Next Generation Training Program 2025/2026 has reached its completion — The Nordic-Korea Next Generation Training Program 2025/2026 has reached its completion

The Nordic-Korea Next Generation Training Program 2025/2026 has reached its completion. On Thursday, February 12th, the culmination of this year’s program took place as the four outstanding participants presented their research findings. Sponsored by The Korea Foundation, the program aims to foster the next generation of policy experts and strengthen the ties between the Nordic region and the Korean Peninsula.

ISDP welcomed Ulrik Nilsson for a discussion on election observation missions and challenges for democracies — ISDP welcomed Ulrik Nilsson for a discussion on election observation missions and challenges for democracies

Ulrik Nilsson, Member of the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) from the Moderaterna party, visited ISDP to discuss international election observation missions in countries including Poland, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. The discussion focused on his experiences, observations, the challenges posed by authoritarian states to democracies, and internal challenges within democratic systems.

ISDP co-hosted the Inaugural Central Asia-Nordic Think Tank Forum with the International Institute for Central Asia in Tashkent — ISDP co-hosted the Inaugural Central Asia-Nordic Think Tank Forum with the International Institute for Central Asia in Tashkent

ISDP was honored to co-host the Inaugural Central Asia-Nordic Think Tank Forum with the International Institute for Central Asia in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Forum, following up on a May 2025 seminar hosted by ISDP in Stockholm that brought together Nordic and Central Asian experts, seeks to be a driving force in developing closer ties between the Nordic countries and the Central Asian region.