Welcome to my personal website. I am a scholar, analyst and consultant focusing on Asia-Europe political, economic and security relations and the China-EU-US strategic triangle.
I obtained a PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics (LSE), and have held positions at various universities and think tanks. Currently Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Institute-University of Bologna; and Associate Fellow at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in Rome. From 2015 to 2020 I was Senior Fellow for Asia at IAI and from 2010 to 2014 Senior Analyst at the Paris-based EU Institute for Security Studies (the EU's official think tank). I am affiliated to the Wilson Center in Washington DC (where I was a Fellow in 2021, and Public Policy Scholar in 2014) and to the European University Institute in Florence (where I was Jean Monnet Fellow and Marie Curie Research Fellow).
I have authored various books, articles and policy papers. The next monograph will be an Introduction to China-Europe relations (BUP 2027). My work has received media attention and has appeared in (among the others): Project Syndicate, The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Reuters, The Diplomat, Asia Times, China Daily, Taipei Times, Nikkei Asia.
I am the founding director of Orientedworld - a consultancy incorporated in London.
Please find here more information About me, Research highlights, main Publications (including pdf copy), Media interventions, Consultancy experience and projects.
A spiritual seeker and a student of the International School of Self Awareness, am currently working on a book (and website) on how Eastern and Western esoteric Schools influence international politics.
I currently live between Paris, Rome and Bologna - and regularly spend time in Asia. To contact me please write to: nicola.casarini@alumnifellows.eui.eu - or alternatively to: research@orientedworld.com
Will China take Taiwan by force and/or enforce a full-scale blockade on the island? And what could the EU do to contribute to regional peace and reduce growing tensions between Beijing and Taipei? In this article, previously published as a policy paper and op-ed, I seek to provide some answers.
We know that the Russia-Ukraine war has accelerated China’s de-dollarization strategy. Much less known is that outside Hong Kong, it is Europe which is bolstering China’s monetary ambitions, lending support to the internationalization of the renminbi – a trend that has wider implications for the US and its Asian allies.
A thread connects Donald Trump’s geo-economic containment of China with Giorgia Meloni’s plan to position Italy as India’s and Middle Eastern countries’ gateway to Europe. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is where Washington’s and Rome’s interests meet, supported by the private sector, most notably the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC),
The history of transatlantic cooperation on China shows that periods of alignment have been followed by times of profound divergence. This article explains why, and how. It argues that reconciling Brussels’ and Washington’s views on China is possibly one of the most important and daunting tasks for Western policy makers.