Paul Sinning

Nieuw HCSS en Deloitte onderzoek laat zien dat een mogelijk verbod op het woonlandbeginsel in de zeevaart verstrekkende gevolgen kan hebben voor Nederland.

Minder Nederlands gevlagde schepen -> Nederland wordt afhankelijker van buitenlandse vlootcapaciteit.

Lees het rapport via: buff.ly/hh0gRBn

Samen sterk met de VS? Dat betekent schikken naar de Maga-agenda

Na München bleek in Boedapest waar Rubio écht staat: steun voor Orbán, druk op Zelensky, en een Amerika dat flirt met Poetin, stelt @robdewijk.bsky.social in @trouw.nl. Het wordt tijd dat Europa kiest: meegaan in MAGA of militair en economisch op eigen benen staan.
www.trouw.nl/opinie/samen...

The grim message in the ‘rusting’ Arctic rivers

Excellent article in FT.

Exclusive: Pentagon threatens to cut off Anthropic in AI safeguards dispute Anthropic has not agreed to the Pentagon's terms and defense officials are getting fed up after months of difficult negotiations.

“The Pentagon is pushing four leading AI labs to let the military use their tools for "all lawful purposes,"
…
Anthropic insists that two areas remain off limits: the mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weaponry.“

China has planted so many trees around the Taklamakan Desert that it's turned this 'biological void' into a carbon sink Huge-scale ecological engineering around the edges of one of the world's largest and driest deserts has turned it into a carbon sink that absorbs more CO2 than it emits, research suggests.

China has planted so many trees around the Taklamakan Desert that it's turned this 'biological void' into a carbon sink, that absorbs more CO2 than it emits
More than 66 billion trees have been planted in northern China to date
www.livescience.com/planet-earth...

Het einde van de ‘Pax Americana’ vraagt om politieke en militaire beslissingen De Europese relatie met Amerika op veiligheidsgebied laat zich kenmerken als aangeleerde hulpeloosheid. Nu we door Donalds Trumps dreigementen richting Groenland wakker zijn, is het tijd om door te pakken, schrijven Davis Ellison en Tim Sweijs van het HCSS.

"Europa kan ook zonder de hulp van de VS voldoende afschrikking tegen Rusland opbouwen - 'met schild én speer'"

De Pax Americana is voorbij - Groenland was geen incident, maar een wake-up call, schrijven HCSS experts Tim Sweijs en Davis Ellison in @fd.nl

fd.nl/opinie/15861...

Leaked technical documents show China rehearsing cyberattacks on neighbors’ critical infrastructure Internal files describe a training platform as part of a large integrated system designed to allow attackers to practice hacking replicas of “the real network environments” of China’s “main operationa...

Leaked technical documents show China rehearsing cyberattacks on neighbours’ critical infrastructure –The Record: ‘part of a large integrated system […] practice hacking replicas of “the real network environments” of China’s “main operational opponents […] South China Sea and Indochina directions.”’

Lessons from the Jungle for the Zoo: Support Ukraine, Help Ourselves | Key Findings Ukraine Visit - HCSS HCSS research director Tim Sweijs visited Kyiv in 2025 to study Ukraine’s battlefield adaptations, industrial resilience, and societal mobilisation. This new HCSS report, co-written by Elie Tenenbaum…

New HCSS report | Ukraine has turned the battlefield into a “live lab” of adaptation: semi-autonomous drones, AI targeting, and digital procurement.

Europe must learn these lessons fast or risk facing a stronger Russia.

Read our newest and insightful report!

And another insightful report!

New report

Some good news!

Breakthrough Water Filter Removes 'Forever Chemicals' 100x Faster Than Carbon An international team of scientists has discovered a record-breaking method of removing a class of harmful 'forever chemicals' from contaminated water.

www.sciencealert.com/breakthrough... An international team of scientists has discovered a record-breaking method of removing a class of harmful 'forever chemicals' from contaminated water. #environment #health #biology

Lets ask Alice

Join our webinar as we explore how eFuels can strengthen Europe’s security, resilience and strategic autonomy by enhancing the robustness of our fuel supply in times of crisis and defence. In this… With renewable fuels towards security and resilience

⛽️ Can eFuels help strengthen Europe’s security, resilience and strategic autonomy by enhancing the robustness of our fuel supply in times of crisis and defence?

Rewatch the eFuel_Alliance webinar with HCSS expert Irina Patrahau here:
buff.ly/ZKkjK1a

How European blind spots strengthen the shadow order As a strategy and international security specialist, Julien Bastrup-Birk (41) has advised both NATO and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and worked at the UK Foreign and Defence…

Criminal networks, terrorist groups and insurgents operate as a parallel international system.

HCSS strategic advisor Julien Bastrup-Birk explains why Europe underestimates this “shadow order” — and how that weakens its ability to respond.

Europe's offshore wind pact is a hedge against US gas reliance European countries have agreed to jointly develop a vast offshore wind network, marking a pivotal step in the region's push to both trim its dependence on U.S. natural gas imports and tackle rising renewable energy costs.

Europe's offshore wind pact is a hedge against US gas reliance reut.rs/3M4B5wi

Explainer: The latest science on ocean acidification In 2025, scientists warned the ‘planetary boundary’ for ocean acidification had been crossed. This is what that means and why it matters

dialogue.earth/en/ocean/exp...

eFuel Alliance | With renewable fuels towards security and resilience - HCSS On the 27th of January, HCSS Strategic Analyst Irina Patrahau will speak at the webinar 'With renewable fuels towards security and resilience' organised by eFuel Alliance. Russia’s war of aggression…

💡Energy security has become a frontline issue for Europe’s defence and resilience.

Join HCSS analyst Irina Patrahau for an eFuel Alliance webinar where experts will discuss how eFuels can strengthen Europe’s security, resilience & strategic autonomy.

"Donald Trump now genuinely lives in a different reality, one in which neither grammar nor history nor the normal rules of human interaction now affect him. Also, he really is maniacally, unhealthily obsessive about the Nobel Prize."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Irresponsible behaviour.

HCSS in the media | Week 3 - HCSS HCSS is happy to share its knowledge and expertise. Our in-house strategic analysts and affiliated subject matter experts are regularly requested to provide commentary and insights on geopolitical…

From Ukraine to Venezuela, HCSS analysts and experts regularly provide commentary and insights on geopolitical and international security matters for national and international media and press.

Here's a selection of this week’s highlights:

Gooi de Verenigde Staten uit de Navo

De Europese Navo-leden moeten de taal van de macht gaan spreken, schrijft @robdewijk.bsky.social in @trouw.nl. Geen deals sluiten, niet onderhandelen, maar nee zeggen tegen Amerikaans landjepik en duidelijk maken welke prijs Trump voor zijn agressie moet betalen.

Next stop the EU.

Strengthening Europe's Resilience in an Era of Strategic Shocks Join us to explore how Europe can build whole-of-society resilience and civil-military cooperation to face cascading crises.

What does it take to transform situational resilience into systemic strength across Europe?

Join us online on February 11 to explore how Europe can build whole-of-society resilience and civil-military cooperation to face cascading crises.
www.eventbrite.nl/e/strengthen...

2025 Wasn’t the Hottest Year on Record. Earth Is Still Barreling to the Climate Brink Global warming surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius for the past three years, meaning Earth is currently on track to breach the Paris climate agreement by the end of the decade

Global warming surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius for the past three years, meaning Earth is currently on track to breach the Paris climate agreement by the end of the decade

New Report: Responding to China's Hybrid Threats: Strategic Postures for Small and Middle Powers  - HCSS The new HCSS report ‘Responding to China’s Hybrid Threats: Strategic Postures for Small and Middle Powers’ analyses how the People’s Republic of China deploys hybrid threats against small and middle…

💡Hybrid threats aren’t episodes—they’re structural.

From mapping dependencies to early-warning systems, SMPs can build coherent counter-hybrid postures. Preparation > reaction.

Read more in new HCSS report:

BNR | De Strateeg: De strijd om het Noordpoolgebied, ‘het wordt één van de nieuwe machtscentra van de wereld ’ - HCSS Door klimaatverandering smelt het ijs in het Arctisch gebied, waardoor nieuwe vaarroutes ontstaan en waardevolle grondstoffen beter toegankelijk worden. Dit maakt de regio strategisch en economisch…

Waarom heeft Trump het gemunt op Groenland?

HCSS expert Fiona De Cuyper sprak eerder uitgebreid over het strategisch belang van het Arctisch gebied, in BNR podcast De Strateeg:

Ocean Temperatures Just Hit a Dire New Record The world’s ocean absorbed more heat in 2025 than in any other year on record

#ClimateEmergency

"Hotter oceans contribute to rising sea levels, disrupt fragile marine ecosystems and fuel extreme weather."

www.scientificamerican.com/article/ocea...

Indeed!