Three topics of my research
European Union´s foreign, security and defence policy
I am interested in the institutional dimension of the EU´s decision-making and i study the involvement of various stakeholders in this process. In January 2020, I started to carry out my research project: "High Representative as policy entrepreneur. The dynamics of EU foreign policy decision making after 2009", I was granted with by the National Science Center (NCN). Until the end of 2022 I will study the question of entrepreneurship in EU's foreign and security policy and attempt to uncover the dynamics underlying some of the crucial foreign policy decision since the Treaty of Lisbon. A brief project description can be found here. In December 2020 I have been granted with a Bekker-fellowship by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange NAWA and in 2021 I had the opportunity to pursue my research on EU´s foreign, security and defence policy at the European University Institute and the School of Transnational Governance in Florence. Since 2021 I co-lead a work-package at the Horizon2020 ENGAGE project and I am responsible for putting forward a White Paper with recommendations for Recommendations for Joined-up, Coherent, Sustainable, and Effective External Action (due in 2024).
In the recent years, I have published several journal articles on different aspects of EU's foreign and security policy such as the post-Brexit cooperation between the EU and the UK in this particular policy area, the European Neighbourhood Policy or the performance of particular institutions such as the European External Action Service.
Foresight in International Relations
Due to growing uncertainties in the world affairs, the decision-making in foreign and security policy has become more complex than ever and the decision makers are increasingly relying on forward-reasoning to inform their policy. This observation gave me the motivation to dig into the foresight studies. In my capacity as the Dahrendorf Forum, I have gained experience with the application of foresight methods (primarily: the Multiple Scenario Generation) in International Relations. I presented my idea on how to use foresight in IR in this paper published in "Contemporary Security Policy".
Moreover, I edited two reports presenting scenarios for the future of EU´s foreign and security policy:
M. Sus and F. Pfeifer (eds.) European Union in the World 2025. Scenarios for EU relations with its neighbours and strategic partners, Hertie School of Governance and LSE Ideas: Dahrendorf Analysis May 2016. and M. Sus and M. Hadeed (eds.) European Security 2030. Hertie School and LSE Ideas: September 2019.
I also edited a special issue of "Futures. The journal of policy, planning and futures studies" with the title "European Union in the World 2025 – Scenarios for the EU relationships with neighbours and strategic partners". You can read the introduction here.
Bilateral cooperation between EU´s Member States in the field of foreign, security and defence policy
Finally, since the EU foreign policy is a function of multi- and bilateral cooperation between the Member States, I have been studied drivers and obstacles for bilateral relationship(s), especially in the field of foreign, security and defence policy. My focus is on the bilateral cooperation between Poland and Germany as while various studies have been conducted on the Franco–German tandem, the Polish–German relationship remains under-researched even though it forms a insightful case study. In 2018, I was granted with a project on the Polish-German relations, that is founded by the Polish-German Science Foundation and I serve as the co-director of the project.
Its results have been published in a edited volume within the Routledge Advances in European Politics:
"Poland and Germany in the European Union.The multi-dimensional dynamics of bilateral relations"
(March 2021).