Goods, services and financial flows have become instruments of power projection and foreign policy. Whereas comparative cost advantages were long considered key to national prosperity during globalisation, strategic commerce is taking their place. Technologies once regarded as “neutral” are now seen as critical to both economic and national security. Drawing on examples from clean technologies, energy, and natural resources, the keynote examines how the major economic blocs — the United States, China, and Europe — as well as industrialised countries in Asia, are positioning themselves strategically to secure power and influence, and what this means for Europe’s prosperity, political autonomy, and role in the world. It addresses a central question: how can Europe protect its economic strengths in the age of geoeconomics without sacrificing openness and cooperation?
Professor Andreas C. Goldthau is Director of the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy and holds the Franz Haniel Chair at the University of Erfurt. His research focuses on energy security and the political economy of decarbonization, with books published by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and Wiley. He previously held positions at the University of London, CEU, and Harvard Kennedy School. Dr. Inna Melnykovska is a Jean Monnet Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, and Alumna of the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg. She studies corporate agency and business–state relations under geopolitical stress, drawing on Eastern European experience to inform EU preparedness and economic resilience.
Moderation: Professorin Dr. Inna Melnykovska