Prof. Luis Simón is Director of the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) at the VUB. He is concurrently the Director of the Brussels Office of the Elcano Royal Institute, a Senior Associate (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and a Visiting Fellow at the Robert Schuman Institute for Advanced Studies (European University Institute). Luis is currently leading a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator project on US-China Rivalry and its implications for Europe. His areas of expertise include international security, US foreign and defence policy, European security, transatlantic relations, and Asian security.
Luis’ research has appeared in prestigious journals, such as Security Studies, International Affairs, Review of International Studies, Journal of European Public Policy, Contemporary Security Policy, the Journal of Strategic Studies, Geopolitics, Survival, etc. Earlier, he was a postdoctoral FWO Fellow at the School of International and Public Affairs (Columbia University) and a visiting fellow at the School of Advanced International Studies (Johns Hopkins University). Luis holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of London, and a Master’s degree from the Institute d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po).
Selected Research
“With or Without You: How Junior Allies Balance Security And Autonomy”, European Journal of International Relations (early online view) – with Klose, S.
“Player and Playground: Europe in US-China Competition”, Journal of European Integration, 47(6): 785-803 – with Fiott, D.
“Divided We Stand? Examining the European Union’s Ability to Withstand External Wedging”, Journal of European Integration 47(6): 805-823 – with Lovato, M.
“Levels of Division: How Wedge Strategies Shape International Politics”, Contemporary Security Policy 46(3) (2025): 673-702, with Kim, T.
“Face to Face: France, Germany and the Future of the European Defense Industry”, Journal of European Public Policy, 32(6) (2025): 1389-1413 – with Calcara, A.
“Better Safe Than Sorry: Why Great Powers Accommodate High Value Hedgers”, Review of International Studies, (early online view) – with Figiaconi, F.
“Competition with China and U.S. Defence Strategy: From Net Assessment to Competitive Strategies?”, Defence Studies, 23(3) (2023): 359-380 – with Ernst, M.
“A Reputation versus Prioritization Trade-off: Unpacking Allied Perceptions of US Extended Deterrence in Distant Regions”, Security Studies, 30(5) (2021): 725-760 – with Kim, T.
“Market Size and the Political Economy of European Defense”, Security Studies, 30(5) (2021): 860-892 – with Calcara, A.
“Greater Security Cooperation: U.S. Allies in Europe and East Asia”, Parameters, 51(2) (2021): 60-71 – with Kim, T.
Selected Policy Analysis
“Three Alternative Approaches to Deterrence in Europe and the Indo-Pacific”, War on the Rocks, 19 June 2025.
“Hanging Together or Hanging Separately? Europe and the Indo-Pacific in US-China Rivalry”, CSDS In Depth 15/2025 – with Fiott, D. (eds).
“Primed for Deterrence: NATO and the Indo-Pacific in the Age of Great Power Competition”, CSDS In Depth 14/2025 – with Fiott, D., Mattelaer, A., Masuda, M., Boswinkel, L., Lanoszka, A. and Meijer, H.
“Destined for Division? US and EU Responses to the Challenge of Chinese Overcapacity”, Peterson Institute for International Economics, April 2025 – with Bora, S. and Lovely, M.
“The Trump Administration vs. the Axis of Upheaval”, War on the Rocks, 29 January 2025.
“Can Europe Fight for Taiwan?”, War on the Rocks, 8 January 2025.
“Alliance Networking in Europe and the Indo-Pacific”, War on the Rocks, 17 December 2024.
“Ukraine, Europe and the Art of the Deal”, War on the Rocks, 8 November 2024.
“NATO Should Think Big About the Indo-Pacific”, War on the Rocks, 1 July 2024.
“Shades of Grim: Scenarios for Ukraine and Global Order”, CSDS In-Depth 12/2024 – with Boswinkel, L.
Full list of publications
