Event Date: March 7, 2025 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Location: FSS 4004, 120 University Private, University of Ottawa

Presented by CIPS, the Asian Studies Network (ASN) and the Research Chair in Taiwanese Studies

Between 2008 and 2020, Dr. Zsuzsa Anna FERENCZY worked at the European Parliament as a political advisor, an experience that has contributed to her research on EU-Taiwan ties. In her book, Partners in Peace. Why Europe and Taiwan Matter to Each Other, she explores how global dynamics, in particular the China-Russia strategic alignment, are shaping EU-Taiwan relations in the framework of the Indo-Pacific. A new reality, in which China has supported Russian aggression in the heart of Europe, has shaped the writing process. The China-Russia factor cannot and should not be ignored when exploring EU-Taiwan relations because of the complexity of the challenge the two present to global peace and security. In addition to celebrating their like-mindedness, the EU and Taiwan also share important interests. The EU is highly dependent on trade with the Indo-Pacific region, but has had limited capabilities to protect its interests and limited political will to improve these. ASEAN is a key partner for both Taiwan and Europe. Brussels has secured a place for “Taiwan as a partner” in its political discourse. Ultimately, however, beyond a Taiwan-friendly European Parliament and a more assertive European Commission, it is the extent to which member states are willing to engage Taiwan and push back against an assertive China that matters most. So far, member states’ political will has been half-hearted only.

Learn more about her book, Partners in Peace. Why Europe and Taiwan Matter to Each Other:

Speaker:

Dr. Zsuzsa Anna FERENCZY is Affiliated Scholar at the Department of Political Science of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Associated Research Fellow at the Institute for Security & Development Policy (ISDP Stockholm), Head of the Associates Network at 9DASHLINE and Fellow at Agora Strategy, Munich. Based in Taiwan, Zsuzsa is Assistant Professor at the National Dong Hwa University in Hualien. Between 2008 and 2020 Zsuzsa worked as a political advisor in the European Parliament. Her latest book, “Partners in Peace. Why Europe and Taiwan Matter to Each Other” was published in October 2024. Zsuzsa is a regular commentator in international media outlets. She tweets at @zsuzsettte

Moderator:

André Laliberté – After obtaining a doctorate in political science from the University of British Columbia in 1999, André Laliberté taught at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, where he is a full professor and teaches courses on comparative politics, with a focus on the countries of the Indo-Pacific region. He is co-director of the Research Chair in Taiwanese Studies, in addition to being an associate researcher at the Center for International Policy Studies and the Human Rights Research and Education Center at the University of Ottawa. He has published articles and chapters on various aspects of Taiwan’s democratic transition and consolidation, including changing civil-military relations, women’s participation in parliament, migrant workers’ rights, and the political actions of religious associations. He has also written on different dimensions of the CCP religious work. He was a visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington in 2011 and at Leipzig University in 2019. He regularly visits Taiwan for research and has done the same often to Hong Kong and to over ten different cities in China.