Last Monday, the first GA x PoliticsCo symposium took place! The overall theme of the night was the role of the Netherlands within Europe. We were joined by two wonderful speakers Marloes Beers, assistant professor in International Relations from the UU, and Diederick van Wijk, Research Fellow at Clingendael. Dr. Beers focused energy relations within Europe, placing it within the historical context of the 20^th century, whereas Mr. van Wijk centred his talk around the geopolitical role of the Netherlands and the foreign policy developments in Europe.

Dr. Beers started her talk with the Energy Union and its goals. Interestingly enough, their goals have not changed much when compared to its 20^th-century predecessors. The energy sources needed to be secure, i.e. the geopolitical dimension, competitive, i.e. obtain a good market position vis-a-vis the rest of the world and overall be healthy business, and affordable for both consumers and business while also relying on a good energy infrastructure. The only dimension which was added after 1964 is sustainability, i.e. ensuring that the energy policies are in line with the climate goals.

Though the EU was founded on energy cooperation, there is no real common energy interests within Europe. Most energy policies are based on national stakes which is no real surprise when you analyse the various energy sources used within the different European states: each state has its own energy palette of nuclear, solid fossil fuels, wind, solar gas, etc. Rather than seeing great similarities throughout Europe, we see many differences between neighbouring states. For example, the French and Belgians are heavily reliant on nuclear energy, while natural gas has the greatest stake in the Netherlands, and solid fossil fuels were used most in Germany.

In the Dutch case, we did not leverage our energy resources for geopolitical power. Rather, the Dutch government has always been very reserved with the Groninger gas. Rather than helping their fellow neighbours during the oil crises, they raised their prices just like OPEC. This again shows that energy policies are mainly a national affair and that the Dutch actively chose to keep it a commercial affair.

Mr. Van Wijk opened his talk by stating that the Netherlands, as a small country, has always been very open within the world economy. We try to profile ourselves as “the biggest of small countries”, showing our ambition to punch above our geopolitical weight. The Dutch, like most other smaller states, have benefited immensely from the rule-based world order; cheap gas, cheap labour from Asia, and protection in the form of the US peace dividend. However, rather than using some profits to offset for the ecological and geopolitical deficits, we simply continued reaping the benefits of this system.

Such an approach is no longer sustainable within our current world as the rule-based order, which has been led by the US, continues to decay. The Dutch have to recalibrate their foreign policy triangle which consists of:

1. Securing the state and its position within the international system
2. Fostering a strong economic position
3. Working towards a meaningful international order based on shared norms and values

The emphasis within this policy triangle needs to be shifted to answer the triple fragmentation within the international arena. First, there is a fragmentation of poles, shifting from US hegemony to a bipolar or multipolar world. Moreover, there is a broadening of platforms and arenas because of globalisation. The world has become smaller through technological advances and more venues have opened to hurt other states, i.e. the weaponisation of interdependence. At last, there has been a fragmentation of views. There is no universal democratisation as Fukuyama predicted, but a multitude of state forms like Chinese capitalism, anti-imperialism, Trumpism, etc.

These changing tides is also reflecting within the Dutch populace; the overwhelming majority thinks that the Netherlands as a state it too dependent on the US for security, and too reliant on China’s economy. Thus, the Dutch need to recalibrate our policy triangle, but this is not an easy feat as there are three factors to keep in mind.

1. The Dutch need a lot from the EU and cannot strongarm them into giving us what we want.
2. The Dutch lost an important stronghold within Europe as Rutte has been appointed secretary general within NATO.
3. There is a major shortage of Dutch people within EU institutions, leaving us scrambling to influence the EU from the inside.

So we need to refocus our foreign policy to attain more strategic autonomy nationally and within the European context and more policy ideas to develop the Dutch interests within Europe.