Dr. sc. pol. Kai-Olaf Lang
EU/Europe Senior Fellow
Areas of Expertise
- Baltic countries
- Central and Eastern Europe
- EU Eastern Partnership
- EU enlargement policy
- European Union
SWP Publications
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The new E6 format: The EU between unity and fragmentation
In the face of mounting geopolitical pressure, the EU is seeking to regain its capacity to act by bringing together its six largest economies. Can the E6 group genuinely generate political traction within the Union without jeopardising the balance between European unity and operational effectiveness? In which policy areas could this format deliver substantial added value?
360 degrees, 24.04.2026 -
Coalitions Everywhere – Leadership Nowhere? Europe’s Defence in a Proliferation of Flexible Formats
in: With, Without, Against Washington: Redefining Europe’s Relations With the United StatesContribution to a Research Paper 2026/RP 05, 27.03.2026, 81 Pages, pp. 17–20
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Renewing Europe’s Soft Power in the Geopolitical Zeitenwende –Outmoded Considerations
in: With, Without, Against Washington: Redefining Europe’s Relations With the United StatesContribution to a Research Paper 2026/RP 05, 27.03.2026, 81 Pages, pp. 54–57
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Poland: Solidifying Europe’s Security Order with Cracks inside the House
in: The Tipping Point: An Emerging Model of European Security with Ukraine and without RussiaContribution to a Research Paper 2025/RP 05, 06.11.2025, 96 Pages, pp. 43–49
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Turning the EU into a Life Insurance Policy
German European Policy in Times of Upheaval
SWP Comment 2025/C 24, 27.05.2025, 8 Pagesdoi:10.18449/2025C24
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Ukraine’s possible EU accession and its consequences
The European Council has granted Ukraine candidate status. Despite political momentum, the road into the EU will be long and arduous. What challenges do the EU and Ukraine face in preparing for accession and eventual admission? This 360 Degrees was coordinated by Nicolai von Ondarza.
360 degrees, 22.07.2022
External publications
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Partnership for Enlargement: A new way to integrate Ukraine and the EU’s eastern neighbourhood
European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Policy Paper, 17.06.2022 -
Can Brussels save democracy?: the lacking effectiveness of EU democracy policy towards member states
in: Weronika Priesmeyer-Tkocz (ed.), Common Values: discussing German and Polish perceptions of European Integration. Baden-Baden: Nomos, January 2017, pp.13-29 -
Germany, the European Union, and Their Gentle Force in the European Neighbourhood - A Comparison of Two Soft Power Engines
in: Toms Rostoks, Andris Spruds (eds.): The Different Faces of "Soft Power": The Baltic States and Eastern Neighborhood between Russia and the EU, Latvian Institute of International Affairs, Riga, 2015, pp. 30-62 -
The Myth of German Hegemony
Why Berlin Can't Save Europe Alone
in: Foreign Affairs, 02.10.2012 (online) -
Preserving the Alliance, Going European and Knotting Direct Ties
Poland's Euroatlanticism in Transition
in: Peter Schmidt (ed.)A Hybrid RelationshipTransatlantic Security Cooperation beyond NATOSeries: Internationale Sicherheit Vol. 7 (edited by Heinz Gärtner), Peter Lang Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2008, pp. 221-234 -
Populism in "Old" and "New" Europe
Trends and Implications
in: Martin Bútora et al. (eds.)Democracy and Populism in Central Europe: The Visegrad Elections and Their AftermathBratislava 2007, pp. 125-140