Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda

Episode 17: The European Reaction to the Russo-Ukrainian War with Nathalie Tocci

Episode Summary

In this episode, Director of Rome's Institute for International Affairs and 22/23 Europe's Futures Fellow of IWM and ERSTE Foundation Nathalie Tocci joins Ivan Vejvoda to offer her assessment of the European response to the full-scale Russian Invasion of Ukraine. From the often surprising unity and speed with which the EU has adapted to economic, energy and geopolitical challenges to the more fraught issues of security and defence where a clear European purpose has been less in evidence, Nathalie and Ivan discuss the strengths and shortcomings that have been revealed by the war. Looking to the future, they also address the shifting power centres within the EU, the interaction of continent-wide forces with local concerns and the consequences of the war for the psychology of enlargement policy and other EU wide concerns. Nathalie Tocci is a researcher and advisor in the field of international relations and European affairs. She has worked at various institutions including the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies in the European University Institute, and the Istituto Affari Internazionali where she became the Director in 2017. Tocci has also served as an advisor to Federica Mogherini and Josep Borrell on foreign policy issues. She has published several books on international relations with a focus on European affairs and received the Anna Lindh Award on European Foreign Policy in 2008. She writes regularly for Politico. She is an Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen and an Adjunct Professor at the European Union Institute EUI.

Episode Notes

In this episode, Director of Rome's Institute for International Affairs and 22/23 Europe's Futures Fellow of IWM and ERSTE Foundation Nathalie Tocci joins Ivan Vejvoda to offer her assessment of the European response to the full-scale Russian Invasion of Ukraine. From the often surprising unity and speed with which the EU has adapted to economic, energy and geopolitical challenges to the more fraught issues of security and defence where a clear European purpose has been less in evidence, Nathalie and Ivan discuss the strengths and shortcomings that have been revealed by the war. Looking to the future, they also address the shifting power centres within the EU, the interaction of continent-wide forces with local concerns and the consequences of the war for the psychology of enlargement policy and other EU wide concerns.

Nathalie Tocci is a researcher and advisor in the field of international relations and European affairs. She has worked at various institutions including the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies in the European University Institute, and the Istituto Affari Internazionali where she became the Director in 2017. Tocci has also served as an advisor to Federica Mogherini and Josep Borrell on foreign policy issues. She has published several books on international relations with a focus on European affairs and received the Anna Lindh Award on European Foreign Policy in 2008. She writes regularly for Politico. She is an Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen and an Adjunct Professor at the European Union Institute EUI.

You can read her Politico Columns here
Find Nathalie on twitter @NathalieTocci


Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM where, in cooperation with leading European organisations and think tanks IWM and ERSTE Foundation have joined forces to tackle some of the most crucial topics: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. Since its foundation in 1982, it has promoted intellectual exchange between East and West, between academia and society, and between a variety of disciplines and schools of thought. In this way, the IWM has become a vibrant center of intellectual life in Vienna.

The IWM is a community of scholars pursuing advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. For nearly four decades, the Institute has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions of the world. It hosts more than a hundred fellows each year, organizes public exchanges, and publishes books, articles, and digital fora. 

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/