You are warmly invited to attend the guest lecture ‘The Security Narrative of Europe’ by Prof. Dr Pieter de Wilde (University of Groningen) on Thursday, 19 November 2026. Drawing on his book "Het Veiligheidsverhaal van Europa" (The Security Narrative of Europe), Pieter de Wilde will explore how Europe’s evolving focus on security shapes European integration and what this means for the future of European democracy.
About the book: summary
After decades of more or less guaranteed peace on the European continent, the threat of war has now become a reality. For European countries far from the Russian border, such as the Netherlands and Belgium, this realisation comes as a major shock. The new ‘security narrative’ is pushing themes that dominated public debate until recently into the background.
Originally conceived as a voluntary peace project, European cooperation evolved from a predominantly federalist vision in the 20th century into an economically driven, liberal cosmopolitan project, and, in recent years, into a ‘Europe that protects’. The current security narrative presents both opportunities and threats for our European democracies: a shared security objective could help overcome polarisation around divisive issues such as migration and climate change. However, an overly fearful siege mentality also opens the door to elected and unelected leaders who uncritically undermine the liberal principles of the rule of law and the moral foundations on which our (European) democracies are built.
This raises the question of whether a security narrative ultimately serves Europe's interests. The book The Security Narrative of Europe offers an engaging and refreshing framework for exploring this question.
Universiteit Antwerpen, Stadscampus, Building R - Rodestraat 14, 2000 Antwerp
