Our activities aim to defuse regional tensions and increase trust through preventive diplomacy. The Regional Security Pillar is led by EWI’s Brussels Center. It focuses mainly, but not exclusively, on the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and has its roots in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. In the Middle East and North Africa, EWI convenes regional and bilateral Track 2 dialogues between rivaling states to address pressing issues of mutual interest that threaten the wider region, including the threat of ISIS, the refugee crisis, and the future of energy in the region. With the Afghanistan Reconnected Process, we discuss the regional economic aspects of Afghanistan’s stabilization by providing a platform for businesses and governments in Central and South Asia to identify major obstacles to regional trade and transit. Furthermore, our Regional Security Pillar provides critical insight to our other pillars in terms of how global security issues are understood in conflict areas, and how these same areas can complicate important bilateral relationships.
