In peace and conflict studies, research has always been done with a view to fencing the use of armed force and contributing to peace building and conflict resolution. I see my research in this tradition.
Together with Michal Onderco, I wrote an op ed on the sanctions against Ukraine in the Dutch journal NRC (in Dutch):
Below are a few highlights of policy consultancy (or as they now call it in The Netherlands: valorisation).
Expert hearing in the Dutch Parliament
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Dutch Parliament (‘Tweede Kamer’) invited me to an expert hearings on the strategic autonomy of the European Union on 10 November 2021 and on sanctions on 27 January 2022. The hearings followed up on papers I had written together with Paul van Hooft of The Hague Center of Strategic Studies and with Michal Onderco (Erasmus University Rotterdam). The papers can be found here (strategic autonomy) and here (sanctions) (both in Dutch).
Written Evidence for the UK House of Lords
The European Union Committee/International Agreements Sub-Committee of the British House of Lords had launched in inquiry into how Parliament scrutinises treaties in spring 2020. Together with Julie Kaarbo, Benjamin Martill and Falk Ostermann, I submitted a policy paper.
Dutch Advisory Council on International Affairs
In 2o15, the Dutch Ministry of Defense asked the Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV) for advice on the question whether integrated military structures (such as European Union Battlegroups) would require a reform of the decision-making procedures that are in place for military deployments. The AIV invited me first for a hearing and then for a presentation of their report to the policy-making community.
Rühe Commission
Whether the German deployment law required any reform was contested within Angela Merkel’s cabinet and between Christian Democrats and Social Democrats. To solve this impasse, former minister of defence, Volker Rühe, was asked to chair a commission reviewing the Bundestag’s rights over sending armed forces on a military mission. The “Rühe Commission” invited my to share my views on this in a hearing in September 2014. An abridged version of my expert statement was published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and can be found here.
Wolfgang Wagner 