European Council on Foreign Relations

Commentary 1 October 2026 5 minute read Image by picture alliance / NurPhoto | Danil Shamkin Armenia’s recently re-elected prime minister has a big task ahead: pivot his country away from Russia and towards Europe. Last month, he began preparing Armenia for its EU membership bid. The government is also pursuing a new peace initiative with old adversaries, Azerbaijan and Turkey. But it will take Nikol Pashinyan a lot more to secure a westward turn.

Policy Brief 1 October 2026 A man watches Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual news conference live Image by picture alliance / Dmitry Feoktistov/TASS/dpa | Dmitry Feoktistov Views gathered through ECFR focus groups, and complemented by sociological surveys, suggest Russians see little prospect of influencing the war in Ukraine and are mostly content to keep their heads down.

October 2026 Israel’s illiberal and ethno-nationalist forces are reshaping the country in their image. This is a structural transformation that runs deeper than October’s election, and will outlast Netanyahu. ECFR’s web special maps the battle of ideas for the country’s future and what a new Israel could mean for Europe A state of contention Since before Israel was founded, competing ideological forces have battled over the state’s identity.

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Commentary 28 September 2026 3 minute read Cargo ships wait to transit the Panama Canal after authorities announced a reduction to daily transits due to forecasts of El Niño conditions in Panama City, 24 July 2026 Image by picture alliance / AP Photo/Matias Delacroix As world leaders descend on New York City for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, the international order they have ostensibly come to defend is in worse shape than at any point since 1945.

Policy Brief 24 September 2026 British prime minister Andy Burnham, right, meets with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool, England on September 16th, 2026 Image by picture alliance / Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP Britain’s foreign policy is stuck in the past. It remains shaped to the post-cold-war order, unable to adequately address the challenges and conflicts which are shaping a new geopolitical reality.

Policy Alert 22 September 2026 2 minute read Yemenis who support the Houthi group shout slogans during a night rally, showing support for control of the Mocha port region, at Al-Saben Square in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sep. 11, 2026 Image by picture alliance / Xinhua News Agency | Mohammed Mohammed The Houthis, Yemen’s Iran-backed rebel movement, have tightened their grip on the country’s Red Sea coast.

6 October 2026, 11:30 – 12:30 , Berlin time (CEST, UTC+2) Venue: SDA Bocconi School of Management, Via Antonio Nibby 20, ROMA SPEAKERS Mark Leonard, Co-founder and Director, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) Nathalie Tocci, Senior Fellow, IEP Bocconi; ECFR Council Member CHAIR Stefano Feltri, Communication Advisor, IEP Bocconi What happens when powers no longer agree on the rules, or even on what international order should look like?

Policy Brief 21 September 2026 Skyline with Etihad Towers skyscrapers at night in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 19 February 2026 Image by picture alliance / Markus Mainka The UAE has built outsized influence through a strategy of connectivity, turning itself into a hub that binds it to every great power. The American and Israeli war against Iran was the sharpest test of that model.

Policy Alert 18 September 2026 2 minute read Mark Carney waves as he arrives to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, to attend the State of the European Union address by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, back right; Image by picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com | Justin Tang European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s offer this week of “associate membership” for Canada was received in the European Parliament.