Antonio Calcara

Head, Geopolitics and Technology
Pleinlaan 5, 1050, Brussel, Belgium

Professor Antonio Calcara is Head of the Geopolitics and Technology Programme at CSDS and a Research Professor at VUB, where he is leading the European Research Council project ‘Competition in the Digital Era’ (CODE): Geopolitics and Technology in the 21st Century’. He holds a PhD in Political Science from LUISS University in Rome. He has previously held academic positions at the University of Antwerp, LUISS University and SciencesPo Paris. He has received research funding from the European Research Council, the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), and the European Commission. His research focuses on geopolitical and technological competition in the advanced technology sector. His work has been published in International Security, Security Studies, Review of International Political Economy, Contemporary Security Policy, West European Politics, International Studies Review, Governance, Journal of European Integration and European Security. He is the author of European Defence Decision-Making: Dilemmas of Collaborative Arms Procurement (Routledge).

Selected Research 

“Technological Underpinnings of European Autonomy and US-China Competition”, Journal of European Integration, 47(6) (2025): 943-963 – with Zaccagnini, I. and Teer, J.

“Unpacking the Target State Response to Wedging and Binding Strategies: The Case of 5G”, Contemporary Security Policy (online first view) – with Zaccagnini, I.

“European Cloud Computing Policy: Failing in Europe to Succeed Nationally?”, West European Politics: 1-25 (online first view).

“This Investment is Mine: State-Industry Relations and the European Investment Screening Mechanism”, Review of International Political Economy. (online first view) – with Doppen, F. and De Bievre, D.

“Face to Face: France, Germany and the Future of the European Defence Industry”, Journal of European Public Policy (2024): 1-25 – with Simón, L.

“Governments and Markets in the Digital Age”, International Studies Review, 26(1) (2024).

“Short-Term Readiness, Long-Term Innovation: the European Defence Industry in Turbulent Times”, Defence Studies, 23(4) (2023): 626-643 – with Gilli, A. and Gilli, M.

“Divided We Hack: Exploring the Degree of Sino-Russian Coordination in Cyberspace During the Ukraine War”, in 2023 IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (EuroS&PW): 627-640 – with Ferazza, F., Melella, C. and Mersinas, K.

“From Quiet to Noisy Politics: Varieties of European Reactions to 5G and Huawei”, Governance, 36(2) (2023): 439-457.

“Varieties of Anti‐Globalism: The Italian Government’s Evolving Stance on the EU’s Investment Screening Mechanism”, Politics and Governance, 11(4) (2023), 177-187 – with Poletti, A.

Selected Policy Analysis

“Shifting Grounds. On the Need to Rethink Europe’s AI Ambitions and Competitiveness”, CSDS Policy Brief, 2025 – with Bosticco, R.

“Counting on the Cloud? NATO, Digital Modernisation and Cloud Computing”, CSDS In-Depth Paper, 2025 – with Fiott, D.

“NATO’s Digital Modernisation: The Case of Cloud Computing”, The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, 2025.

“Alignment or Misalignment? US and EU High-Tech Trade and Sanction Policies toward China”, Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2025 – with Schott. J.

“Navigating the Indo-Pacific: Strategic Priorities for the New EU Leadership”, CSDS Policy Brief, 2024 – Tercovich, G., Fiott, D., Pacheco Pardo, R., Pejsova, E., Reiterer, M. and Simón, L.

“Il mercato unico Europeo alla prova della competizione geopolitica”, Pandora Rivista, 2024.

“The Silicon Dream: Europe’s Bid in the Semiconductor Race”, LUISS School of Government Working Paper, 2024 with – Zaccagnini, I.

“Outer Limits? Economic Security and the European Space Sector”, CSDS Policy Brief, 2024 – with Tricco, G.

“Virtual Words: Balancing European Regulation and Industrial Policy for the Metaverse”, CSDS Policy Brief, 2023.

“One Step Back, Two Steps Forward: EU, NATO and Emerging and Destructive Technologies”, CSDS Policy Brief, 2023.

Full list of publications

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