United Nations University - CRIS

📚 New Book Alert!

We are thrilled to share the release of "EU Science Diplomacy in the Middle East: A Comparative Study of Jordan, Israel, and Saudi Arabia" by United Nations University - CRIS Associate Research Fellow Luca Polizzi (PhD)!

Published as part of the United Nations University Series on Regionalism, Moving beyond theoretical debates, the book analyses how distinct domestic innovations, domestic capacities, and geopolitical environments create contrasting patterns of cross-border partnership. A core contribution of this research is the integration of local perception as a critical dynamic. By assessing how EU diplomatic actions are received on the ground, the author uncovers the hidden symmetries and structural imbalances that directly impact mutual trust and institutional visibility.

Drawing on his extensive background as an EU diplomat, European Commission policy officer, and researcher, Dr. Polizzi bridges international relations, environmental cooperation, and innovation ecosystems to deliver an essential read for policymakers and academics alike.

🔗 Read more and get your copy here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-23392-9

🇧🇪🇫🇷 Last week, UNU-CRIS was delighted to welcome a distinguished delegation from the Université Catholique de Lille to our campus in Bruges.

We had highly productive discussions with Dr. Ioannis Panoussis (Vice-President and Vice-Rector for International Development) and Dr. Fatma Güneri to map out strategic collaboration opportunities between our institutions. The talks covering key areas from joint education and research to capacity development and knowledge production were led by our Director Prof. Philippe De Lombaerde and Senior Research Fellow Prof. Nidhi Nagabhatla.

In addition to exploring institutional partnerships, Dr. Panoussis also joined the doctoral committee meeting of Ms. Ish*tah Sharma, supporting vital research on climate-induced displacement that bridges refugee law with environmental science.

We look forward to a fruitful, long-term collaboration that advances policy-relevant research and global well-being!

📖 Read the full news item here: https://unu.edu/cris/news/universite-catholique-de-lille-delegation-visits-unu-cris-advance-strategic-collaboration

On Monday, 13 July, our Doctoral School on Latin American, European and Comparative Regionalism successfully took off in Quito, Ecuador.

The 14th edition of the School was opened by Committee members Michel Levi, Juliana Peixoto Batista, and United Nations University - CRIS Senior Research Fellow Frank Mattheis. This was followed by inaugural lectures by UASB Rector Dr. César Montaño Galarza and UNU-CRIS Director Dr. Philippe De Lombaerde, as well as a lecture by Dr. Jonatán Badillo of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Xochimilco. The first tutorial sessions followed in the afternoon.

We warmly welcome all participants of this edition and extend our gratitude to our co-organising partners: our local host, Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar Ecuador, and FLACSO Argentina.

We also sincerely thank our collaborating partners for this edition: Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá; UAM Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Xochimilco; Universidade Federal de São Paulo; Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; and the World Trade Organization.

Every year, the Doctoral School brings together PhD students and young researchers from various countries and academic disciplines, all focusing their research on questions related to regional governance, multi-level governance, comparative regionalism, and interregionalism. The week-long school combines expert lectures with a strong methodological focus, alongside tutorial sessions where doctoral candidates receive tailored feedback on their projects.

Looking forward to another enriching experience!

🌏 East Asia’s massive trade architecture is often called a "noodle bowl" of entangled, overlapping free trade agreements. But is the rise of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) completely untangling it?

In our latest United Nations University - CRIS Policy Brief, researcher Upalat Korwatanasakul maps this complex landscape, arguing that the region is shifting toward a highly sophisticated system of "layered regionalism".

Key takeaways from the policy brief:
• Earlier ASEAN+1 comprehensive economic partnerships (CEPs) aren't disappearing. They coexist with RCEP because they often offer deeper tariff concessions and partner-specific cooperation that RCEP doesn’t cover.

• Businesses operating in East Asia now strategically pick and choose between agreements based on tariff margins, rules of origin, and administrative compliance costs.

• The goal for policymakers should not be to forcefully eliminate these overlaps, but to govern them. This means aligning rules, cutting unnecessary compliance friction, and using existing CEPs as launchpads for green, digital, and inclusive regional integration.

Want to understand the strategic future of East Asian trade economics?

📖 Read and download the full policy brief here: https://unu.edu/publication/noodle-bowl-layered-regionalism-policy-choices-governing-overlapping-trade-agreements

🇪🇺 Can a newly established ethics body successfully unify integrity and accountability across the European Union's complex multi-level governance system?

In our latest United Nations University - CRIS Policy Brief, researcher Laure Gillot-Assayag delivers a critical evaluation of the newly established "EU Interinstitutional Ethics Body".

Key insights from this policy brief:
• While the Body significantly improves institutional coordination and promotes common ethical standards, it remains structured heavily on political compromise.

• The brief identifies crucial weak spots that may limit its real-world impact—namely its purely advisory nature, a lack of enforcement powers, and lingering institutional tensions regarding the role of independent experts.

• Laure offers actionable, practical recommendations designed to reinforce the Body's credibility, elevate its independent research capacity, and strengthen its public legitimacy.

Ultimately, this body serves as a definitive litmus test of the EU’s genuine commitment to transparency, institutional integrity, and democratic accountability.

📖 Read the full policy brief here: https://unu.edu/publication/interinstitutional-ethics-body-ethical-standards-european-union-constraints-and

🌍 What does the first Environmental Human Rights Defenders Forum reveal about the growing gaps in protecting those on the frontlines of climate and ecological advocacy?

In our latest Connecting Ideas blog post, United Nations University - CRIS research intern Hatice Nihan Sarıhan shares her reflections from this historic gathering at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

Key themes from the article:
• The forum highlighted a disturbing rise in the misuse of legal frameworks against defenders, including anti-terrorism laws, punitive taxation, and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).

• While grassroots defenders risked their safety to attend, the participation of invited state representatives fell short—many delivered prepared remarks and left without engaging in dialogue.

• The post outlines critical, urgent recommendations: enforcing anti-SLAPP regulations, guaranteeing early-stage transparency, and making environmental impact assessments legally binding.

The ultimate takeaway from Strasbourg is clear: environmental protection and democracy are intrinsically linked. An ecological transition is impossible without a safe space for public participation, access to justice, and institutional accountability.

📖 Read the full text here: https://unu.edu/cris/blog-post/protecting-those-who-care-reflections-first-environmental-human-rights-defenders

🌆 How do migrant small business owners navigate precarious urban conditions and build socioeconomic security under tight constraints?

We are proud to share a new journal article co-authored by our Associate Research Fellow Bayartsetseg Terbish, alongside Tenuunjargal Avirmed, published in Citizenship Studies: "Pathways towards an affectionate community: place-making practices of small business owners in ger areas of Ulaanbaatar."

Key insights from this urban ethnography:
• The authors argue that affection—built on trust, familiarity, care, and symbolic attachment—serves as a powerful mode of agency and a connective force in rapidly urbanising environments.

• The study reframes Ulaanbaatar’s ger areas not just as marginalised settlements, but as vital spaces of grassroots urbanism and local recognition.

• By focus on these everyday place-making practices, the article extends global debates on lived citizenship from a post-socialist context that remains highly underrepresented in urban studies.

📖 Read the full article on Taylor & Francis Online: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/ccst20
📷 : Martin Vorel

🌍 How do we turn international climate pledges into real, ground-level action? The answer lies in empowering the next generation and local communities.

In our latest Connecting Ideas blog post, United Nations University - CRIS research intern Sabit Orynbassar shares his key reflections and insights from attending the 2026 ACE Hub Youth Event in Bonn.

Key themes explored in the article:
• Understanding how education, public awareness, and participation serve as critical tools for local and subnational climate action.

• How municipal authorities, civil society organisations, and youth groups can build effective coalitions to advance the Paris Agreement.

• Moving beyond symbolic representation toward meaningful stakeholder engagement in climate governance.

Sabit’s experience highlights exactly how local initiatives connect to broader, global governance frameworks, demonstrating that real climate resilience is built from the ground up.

📖 Read the full blog post here: https://unu.edu/cris/blog-post/reflections-climate-empowerment-and-youth-participation-insights-2026-ace-hub-youth

📊 "Every dataset is a story someone chose to tell, and every model is an argument about how the world works."

This is how Dr. Serge Stinckwich (Senior Research Fellow at UNU Paris Office) sets the stage. Stinckwich will be coordinating the course "From Data to Policy: Interpretation, Communication, and Ethics" in our Online Master in Economic Policy and Governance for Development and Resilience.

Let's see to how he summarises the essence of this course in his own words:
"My course will show you that quantification is never neutral, and the hard work begins where the computation ends: in deciding what a number means, who hears it, and who bears the consequences when we are wrong. Responsible modelling, then, is not about more confident numbers, but about making our choices visible and contestable."

As Dr. Stinckwich emphasises, transforming complex data into meaningful policies is not just a technical computational process—it is an ethical responsibility.

If you are ready to discover the story behind the numbers and make visible, contestable choices in policy-making, we look forward to welcoming you to our Online Master programme.

🔗 Explore more: https://unu.edu/cris/masters-degree/online-master-economic-policy-and-governance-development-and-resilience

How do we build effective regional security in an environment characterised by competition, hedging, and limited trust?

🛡️Following his recent Working Paper on "functionally differentiated regionalism", our research fellow Mohammed Alotaibi explores this vital question in his latest blog article for War on the Rocks: "The Gulf Arab States Need a Shield Built for Limited Trust".

Key takeaways from the article:
• Alotaibi argues that we should stop waiting for political harmony to build security. Instead, we need a defense and diplomatic shield engineered specifically for an environment of "limited trust".

• The proposed shield is designed to be modular enough to survive political disputes and bounded enough to protect national sovereignty, without requiring a supranational bureaucracy.

• In an era of missile and drone saturation, fragmented national responses create dangerous "latency". Alotaibi proposes a regional operating system that enables lateral data fusion and pre-negotiated authority protocols, moving decision-making upstream.

• Building on his previous research, the author emphasises that while Gulf states can sustain diverse economic models, they cannot afford disconnected defense shields. True sovereignty is the capacity to endure together when threats are shared.

The Gulf states face an integrated threat environment; unintegrated responses amount to "organised vulnerability". This article offers a pragmatic roadmap for building regional capability in a real-world political landscape.

📖 Read the article on War on the Rocks: https://warontherocks.com/the-gulf-arab-states-need-a-shield-built-for-limited-trust/
📖 Explore the Working Paper here: https://unu.edu/publication/gcc-regional-operating-system-differentiated-sovereignty-and-future-gulf-regionalism