Have carried out scholarly research in the following areas:

Geographical focus:

• The politics and international relations of the Indo-Pacific
• Europe’s relations with China and Asian countries
• European foreign policy
• China’s domestic and foreign policy
• Transatlantic relations and China/Asia

Thematic focus:

• The domestic-foreign policy nexus
• The regional order in the Indo-Pacific
• The US-China-EU strategic triangle

Research highlights

Among the various strands of research developed over the years, three stand out for their originality and strategic significance:

Europe-China techno-political linkage. My PhD thesis - published as a monograph by Oxford University Press in 2009 - unveiled original findings on EU-China space technology cooperation, including European transfers of satellite navigation technology which were exploited by Chinese authorities to advance Beijing’s space military program – a dynamic with far-reaching implications for the United States and its Asian allies. These breakthrough findings - gathered during various fieldworks in China where I accessed government facilities and interviewed officials – have been used by policymakers in the European Parliament, the House of Lords, and the U.S. Congress in their inquiries into Europe-China relations.

Euro-Renminbi axis. I have carried out innovative research - based on fieldwork and interviews - on why and how Europe and China have come to support each other’s monetary ambitions, including: (i) Off-the-record findings and estimates on China’s diversification of its foreign reserves away from the dollar and into euro-denominated assets;  (ii) Analysis of Europe’s backing for the inclusion of the Chinese currency in the IMF’s official reserves (the Special Drawing Rights), a move strongly opposed by Washington; (iii) Data and insights into European banks’ use of the China International Payment System (Cips) alternative to the Western-controlled Swift. The findings have been used by EU institutions and published in various outlets, including Foreign Affairs and Project Syndicate.

Europe-Korea relations. I have been one of the first scholars in Europe to recognise the potential of Europe-Korea relations. In July 2013, still working at the EUISS, I organised the first major EU-Korea conference in Brussels, attended by the largest ever delegation of Korean scholars and former policy makers - an event mentioned in the final declaration of the EU-ROK Summit held in November 2013. In subsequent years, have researched, organised conferences, and managed various projects on Europe-Korea relations, with focus on the EU’s distinctive involvement in the Korean Peninsula and on EU-US differences over North Korea. These activities have led to several publications, including two books: EU-Korea Security Relations (Routledge, 2021); and the Routledge Handbook of Europe-Korea Relations, co-edited with leading scholars in the field. Since its publication, the Handbook has become the standard reference on the topic.