Action Plan

The Elcano Royal Institute’s Plan of Action for 2023 is centred on the 10 priority themes identified by the Institute in 2022 as key areas for its research agenda

Cover of the Action Plan 2023, Elcano Royal Institute

These include:

  1. Globalisation, development and governance
  2. Challenges to peace and international security
  3. Democracy and citizenship
  4. Climate and the energy transition
  5. Technology and economic transformations
  6. The future of Europe
  7. Latin America: a global actor
  8. China’s rise, the US and the new world order
  9. Neighbourhood challenges and opportunities
  10. Spain’s influence and image

2023 will feature various initiatives related to Spain’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with a particular emphasis on the future of the relationship between the EU and Latin America and the concept of open strategic autonomy.

They are complemented by five cross-cutting themes:

  1. Cities
  2. Culture
  3. Gender
  4. Migration
  5. Health

These themes are interrelated and cut across many areas of the Institute’s work.

Research and activities planned for 2023 include a number of initiatives related to Spain’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of the year.

Two key areas of particular interest are the importance and outlook of the future of the relationship between the EU and Latin America and the concept of open strategic autonomy. Both are issues on which the Institute has already carried out a significant amount of work.

The Institute will continue its participation in competitive European projects to promote scientific excellence, including RAN-Policy Support and EUTEX (radicalisation), IBERIFIER (disinformation) and RECONNECT China (EU-China relations), alongside others on climate, energy geopolitics and official development assistance.

In 2023 we will continue our involvement in competitive European projects that aim to promote scientific excellence. The projects relate to various research priorities and include: RAN-Policy Support and EUTEX (prevention of violent radicalisation + de-radicalisation), IBERIFIER (disinformation) and RECONNECT China (EU-China relations), alongside others related to climate governance, the geopolitics of energy and the challenges facing official development assistance.

To strengthen and build on its capacity for analysis and impact among the academic community, think tanks and society as a whole, the Institute has expanded and renewed its Scientific Council, harnessing its wealth of intellectual capital through a newly created Advisory Council.

The Institute continues to receive the indispensable support and commitment of our Board of Trustees. It has welcomed a number of new corporate trustees and is looking to broaden its partnerships, with new categories of relationships to the Institute (protector partners and collaborating partners). These form part of our goal to foster a Spanish-language global intelligence community.

Our Action Plan for 2023 spotlights a selection of flagship projects across our different research areas.