Nuno Edgar Nunes Fernandes’ Post

Just out! Our fresh paper with Igor Gretskiy and Tetiana Fedosiuk analysing Russian and Chinese narratives in the EU's eastern neighbourhood. With help of our partners on the ground, we identified four dominant narratives across the region that originate from Russia: (1) ‘decadent and declining West’, (2) ‘historical unity with Russia’, (3) ‘Russia provides security, the West stokes conflict’, and (4) ‘Western-imposed democracy’. The Russian narratives are strongly confrontational vis à vis the EU and the West, question the Western model and propose Russian orientation as the only viable path for the neighbouring countries. In Moldova and Georgia, there was a strong threatening message that European orientation leads to war. We also found one broad narrative promoted by China, ‘China as a positive alternative’, which brought into question the Western model in a more subtle way. The Russian narratives pose a serious challenge to the EU’s policy vis à vis the eastern neighbourhood by directly and indirectly contesting European values and influence. The paper was written in the framework of REDEMOS Horizon Europe Project - we are grateful to all the colleagues who contributed with case studies and comments! https://lnkd.in/dxU7i6-r

The world economy and relationships are more connected than we think. We are one. It is important for countries and corporations to focus on global cooperation. There are huge opportunities for everyone, regardless of what passport they hold or where they reside to grow together. One does not need to lose in order for another to win. This is a very outdated philosophy. This video is an example of an unedited video that simply communicates facts and visions. In the coming months and years; we will be experiencing a larger amount of “half truths” or “fake news”. Strive to get “original” information rather than just fragmented clips when making your position on any topic or issue.

In this episode of Views from Down Underer, we examine the seeming US obsession around the idea of a "Peak China" and the idea of being Number 1. Enjoy listening! https://lnkd.in/dsDF_2MA

Every Friday, I send out a newsletter with key stories to know about Europe this week. And today's edition was packed: 🗞 If you thought a sovereign European country wouldn't give away one of its core competencies – policing – you were wrong. Hungary is to allow Chinese police personnel to patrol its streets. Why? It wants to exercise ideological control over its citizens abroad, as Özge Çakır-Somlyai reports. 🗞 The fate of Mariupol is truly outrageous. First brutally besieged by Russia, the Russian occupiers have now begone constructing apartment buildings throughout the city. Dennis van der Laan describes how attempt to "Russify" the city is a clear sign that Russia does not intend to ever return the city to Ukraine. 🗞 In an absurd data breach, you can now acquire Turkish people's data, including phone numbers, for just €4 on the internet. Yakup Can Y. reports on how he has already received anonymous calls from all over the world. Mia Jeronimus and I curate and edit the newsletter carefully to bring you the The European Correspondent's top stories – including those you wouldn't expect. Got curious? Sign up for the next edition by selecting "The Continent" here: https://lnkd.in/dwG5-E99

In this episode of 'Views from Down Underer', we talk about Lowy Institute's new Asia Power index and Prof Robert Ross' talk on the changing balance of power in East Asia. Listen through the link below: https://lnkd.in/gS5-3ayD

It can be easy to take for granted what New Zealand can contribute to the international intelligence community due to our small size. However, the article below describes a great example of how quality of assessment product matters more than resources. The focus of the article is the US State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Key points that it makes are: - The Department's success at producing accurate geopolitical and thematic assessments is down to the quality and experience of its people. - Dissent against other agencies assessments has been a recurring theme over the years. - They make good use of limited collection resources, focussing on the information that cannot be collected by other means. https://lnkd.in/eFch4JbR

With thanks to previous reposters. "Compiling this historic source book (China views of Western thinkers from Marco Polo to the present), and then the further book I wrote on China and its relations with the outside world, the one insight I gained is that the principal issue which the West and China have always had is how to manage their cultural differences with each other. For the West, with its embrace of pluralism, this should surely be a manageable issue. China's rise should not be a huge problem, because in a diverse world, diverse perspectives should be welcome. I remain surprised that it is still proving so hard for some to deal with a world where there is a new player occupying a prominent place whose main characteristics is that they are culturally different. China's differences here might be challenging to become more familiar with, but they should not be threatening. We all need a more positive outlook now. China's global role is a huge opportunity, and offers something fresh. It should not be seen as a threat, even if there are areas where there are challenges and differences." The author is a professor of Chinese studies and director of the Lau China Institute at King's College. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily." https://lnkd.in/garr-Jdv #china

Contestation is the new global game 🎮 The global landscape is shifting and contestation is now driving international relations. Our Director Steven Everts tells you all about this critical trend in a new video 👇 He explores the 3 types of contestation shaping our world and what the EU needs to do to navigate this complex environment. 🎬 Ready to learn more? Watch the video and join the conversation! 🔗 Read our ‘Contestation’ Chaillot paper: https://lnkd.in/eMpvbvr4 #GlobalPolitics #FutureOfEU

September 11 had a major impact in the world, and this impact is also reflected in the news coverage in the following years. With this study, we wanted to investigate to what extent 9/11 had an impact on the creation of one global public sphere in the Western world. On the contrary, we found that the classic news value of geo- graphical proximity is still dominant: The news coverage increases most clearly the moment an event occurs on a local level. The extreme example of this was the murder of van Gogh, which was widely covered in the Dutch newspapers while relatively neglected on a global level. The other key events discussed also show strong and significant local focus. Whereas 9/11 was mainly seen as an American event by both local and international press, an interesting difference is seen looking at Madrid and London. While Madrid was localized almost to the same extent in the newspapers, the London bombings were far more localized in the U.S. press, even more so than in the British press. The portrayal of Muslims also reveals an interesting pattern. Although no significant shifts in negativity were found after 9/11 or after the local key events, 9/11 did create a strong framework of Muslims as terrorists in all investigated media. After the cr…

Very interesting article by Vox. The intelligence community appears to be prioritizing conformity to prevailing narratives over objective analysis. This bias is evident in the handling of recent events in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Israel, where reports seem to function more as propaganda than unbiased insights. Similar to the Asch conformity experiment, this trend leads to flawed decision-making by policymakers and creates a negative feedback loop that entrenches groupthink. The stakes are too high to continue down this path.