experts
Rosa Balfour
Director, Carnegie Europe

about

Dr Rosa Balfour is the director of Carnegie Europe. Her fields of expertise include European politics, institutions, and foreign and security policy. Her current research focuses on the relationship between domestic politics and Europe’s global role.

She is the author of books, research-based articles, and opinion pieces in the international press on issues relating to European politics and international relations. Balfour is also an advisor to Women in International Security Brussels (WIIS-Brussels), an associate fellow at LSE IDEAS, an alumna of the Europe’s Futures program at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. In 2024 she was appointed to the Scientific Advisory Council of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. Since 2021, she is an honorary patron of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES).

Prior to joining Carnegie Europe, Balfour was a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. She was also director of the Europe in the World program at the European Policy Centre in Brussels and has worked as a researcher in Rome and London.

Dr Balfour holds an MA in history from Cambridge University, an MSc in European Studies and PhD in International Relations both from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

research
Geopolitics and Economic Statecraft in the European Union
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education
PhD, International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science, MSc, European Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science, MA and BA, History, University of Cambridge
languages
English, French, Italian
featured work
research
Charting the Radical Right’s Influence on EU Foreign Policy

Despite embracing democracy, radical-right parties pose a significant challenge to the EU’s fundamental values. European leaders and institutions must address this challenge to safeguard democracy in the EU and ensure a more effective foreign policy.

Europe’s Radical Right Is Formidable—but not Unstoppable

Radical-right forces are already influencing EU policies and could determine the bloc’s future direction. Yet internal divisions give mainstream parties a tactical advantage in this pivotal election year.

Ursula von der Leyen speaking behind a dais
commentary
What Exactly Do the Radical Right’s Wins Mean for the EU?

Making sense of the parliamentary election outcomes and how they might impact issues such as climate.

All work from Rosa Balfour

filters
114 Results
Europe’s Fledgling Economic Statecraft and the Trump Challenge

Donald Trump’s victory underscores the need for the EU to rethink its political economic model. As it adapts its policies, the union must recognize the trade-offs between its quest for economic security and its global identity as a champion of the rules-based order.

· November 28, 2024
In The Media
in the media
Europe Under Trump: Strategic Challenges and Opportunities with Rosa Balfour

A deep discussion on the implications of Donald Trump’s return to the presidency for Europe.

· November 27, 2024
Europe’s Futures
event
The Strategic Shift in Europe’s Economic Statecraft
November 26, 2024

In recent years, trade wars, geopolitical competition, and the weaponization of interdependence have emerged as threats to Europe’s economic security. To boost its resilience and strengthen its strategic autonomy, the EU has started to infuse its economic policies with geopolitical considerations.

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Europe Economic Statecraft
research
Geopolitics and Economic Statecraft in the European Union

In response to great-power rivalry and the weaponization of interdependence, the EU has adopted a geopolitical approach to economic statecraft. To build resilience and maintain its international credibility, the union will have to balance its pursuit of economic security with broader foreign policy goals.

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· November 19, 2024
In The Media
in the media
Europe is Trapped Between Technocracy and Democracy

Europe is so caught between technocracy and politics that it may be unable to address the monumental list of challenges it faces.

· November 4, 2024
Financial Times
In The Media
in the media
EU Should Enlarge, Even Out of Despair

Amid a political shift to the right and a growing focus on defending the union, Europe seems to be turning its gaze inward, risking irrelevance to the rest of the world.

· October 3, 2024
Visegrad Insight
In The Media
in the media
EU Enlargement Has Macro-Level Advantages

EU enlargement is an opportunity to expand the single market and consolidate new investments that will benefit the whole of Europe.

· October 2, 2024
Visegrad Insight Podcast
An Obituary for EU Foreign Policy

EU foreign policy has always been more about ambition than reality. But today’s spiraling disunity among the bloc’s members makes even that ambition an aspiration of the past.

· September 3, 2024
Arc of Instability: How to Survive as an “In-Between” European State

Carnegie Politika podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Carnegie Europe's director Rosa Balfour and senior fellow Tom de Waal to discuss Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, and Serbia, which find themselves caught between Russia and the EU.

Ursula von der Leyen speaking behind a dais
commentary
What Exactly Do the Radical Right’s Wins Mean for the EU?

Making sense of the parliamentary election outcomes and how they might impact issues such as climate.

· June 13, 2024