‘Saying you’re a geopolitical actor doesn’t make it so’: Sven Biscop on Europe

China-EU relations ChinaDiplomacy Open Questions‘Saying you’re a geopolitical actor doesn’t make it so’: Sven Biscop on Europe 15-MIN READ15-MIN 0 Listen Finbarr Berminghamin Brussels Published: 6:00am, 20 Apr 2026 Sven Biscop is a Belgian political scientist and strategist specialising in the foreign affairs and security of the EU and its relations with great powers. He is a director at the Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels and a professor at Ghent University. He is also a senior research fellow at Renmin University in Beijing, where he teaches in the summer. Biscop is the author of many books, including 2024’s This Is Not a New World Order: Europe Rediscovers Geopolitics, from Ukraine to Taiwan. His voice is one of the most prominent in the policy debate in Brussels. Note: this interview was updated last week before the most recent developments in the Strait of Hormuz and the Israeli ceasefire with Lebanon. As a European, what does the Iran war and how it has unfolded tell you about the world in 2026? SCMP Series Open Questions – SCMP interviews with global opinion leaders [ 113 of 113 ] Select Voice Select Speed 0.8x 0.9x1.0x 1.1x 1.2x 1.5x 1.75x 00:0000:00 1.00x