The path of rethinking globalisation into glocalisation is a long one. However distant it may appear from the urgencies of today, this is not the case.
After decades of political inactivity on the failures of a politically ungoverned globalisation, today the ruling classes (here understood in bipartisan terms) are called upon to chase historical processes, which have been made far more complex by factors such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Looking ahead, the issue of energy governance must go hand in hand with a regional approach to planetary challenges and dialogue between ‘glocal’ interests at the same level of approach. If the national level is too limited, the regional level (with ‘variable geometries’) allows for closer supply chains and a better chance of ensuring efficiency, sustainability and resilience.
The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies has published a very interesting report on European prospects for strategic autonomy with respect to cobalt, an indispensable material for the energy transition.
Europe must understand, strategically and for its own survival, that the world is no longer nation-state driven. If we Europeans do not understand this today, we risk paying dearly for it tomorrow.
