Strategic Dialogues

As in previous years, Clingendael was honoured to jointly organise high-level bilateral dialogues with Italy and Spain. These track-1.5 dialogues are organised in close cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their governmental and think tank counterparts. Their purpose is to foster stronger bilateral understanding on foreign policy issues of common interest. Clingendael partnered with the Elcano Royal Institute to organise the Dutch-Spanish dialogue and, for the Dutch-Italian “VanWittel/Vanvitelli” dialogue, with the Istituto Affari Internazionali in Rome. Both dialogues took place in a hybrid format: ministers met face-to-face, but senior policy makers and think tank participants joined online.

Public Platform

The COVID-19 pandemic shaped international economic and political affairs in 2020. It also became a determining factor in the programming of Clingendael’s Public Platform. The pandemic presented a host of challenges, but also new opportunities. Organising physical public events was no longer possible. Clingendael quickly adapted to this new reality and organised numerous digital dialogues and webinars, both for a wider audience and expert audiences. These constraints also offered a number of benefits. Digital meetings allow more participation from a wider geographic space, while physical meetings have geographic and logistical limits.

The pandemic also sparked a surge in demand for expert commentary and analysis on the impact it was having on international (geo)political and economic relations and international and European cooperation. The crisis became a topic in itself and our programming took due account of this.

The number of publications – mainly shorter Clingendael Alerts – and events increased compared to the previous year. Clingendael was also strongly represented in the (inter)national media.

In recognition of the role that Clingendael plays in the international and European think tank debate, the Institute improved its ranking on the TTCSP Global Think Tank Index. Clingendael reached the number 3 position on the list “Top Think Tanks in Western Europe”. Out of more than 10,000 think tanks worldwide, Clingendael maintained its 25^th position in the “Top Think Tanks Worldwide” category. Among non-US thinktanks, Clingendael ranks 13^th. It also rose to the 13^th position on the list of Foreign Policy and International Affairs Think Tanks (+4).

Public discussion via Zoom with Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok. Source: AD.

Among the outputs, the Public Platform’s priority deliverable in 2020 was the “Foreign Affairs Barometer” survey series. The views of the Dutch population on various foreign policy questions were assessed through a survey among more than 23,000 respondents. Throughout 2021 more Barometer analyses will be published. The Barometer survey was also the focus of a number of strategy sessions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and public discussions attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In 2020, Clingendael researchers provided expert commentary no fewer than 978 times in national and international media, including online, television/video, radio and print. More than half of our media commentary (496 times) was in foreign media. All media appearances can be found on our website. Clingendael experts also published 25 opinion pieces in Dutch and foreign media outlets.

Below are highlights of the op-eds and publications that Clingendael experts produced in 2020 as part of the Institute’s mission to inform public and expert debate about international and European affairs.

The online magazine Clingendael Spectator published 141 articles, including 6 thematic volumes on intervention policy, arms control, the Trump presidency, the fight against IS, the state of Africa and 10 years after the Arab Spring.

As part of its public platform, Clingendael organised 17 public events – mainly webinars – and 12 expert events or digital dialogues. A number of these events were full-day conferences – such as the annual State of the Union conference. Aside from the focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, four topics featured prominently in our event programming: Russia and Eastern Europe, China, Turkey and EU-UK relations. A selection follows below.

Aside from events that Clingendael organises itself, Clingendael researchers contribute to numerous policy debates at conferences and roundtables around the world. As invited speakers, Clingendael experts share their insights and analyses, helping to improve policymaking and mutual understanding. These outreach activities are also an important source to ensure Clingendael researchers have access to the latest thinking on various foreign policy issues. In 2020, for example, Clingendael researchers have addressed the Raisina Dialogue, EFTA Council, Japan-Europe Policy Conference, CSCAP-EU Committee meeting, Havencongres 2020, the European Parliament, Chatham House Global Trade Conference, the Benelux Parliament and the EU-UK Track 2 process.

In 2020, Clingendael further strengthened its outreach strategies, focusing in part on online media strategies. Throughout 2020 we witnessed exceptional growth of the Clingendael website. Our pageviews increased by 26.9% to over 1.7 million in 2020.

The data shows that 31.7% of our audience is in the 25-34 age range, with the 18-24 age range making up 25.9% and the 35-44 age range in third place with 14.8%.

More than 85% of our website traffic is generated directly and through search engines (such as Google).

Clingendael significantly increased its reach and engagement on its social media channels in 2020. Our follower base on LinkedIn grew by 29.9%, on Twitter by 24.8%, on Facebook by 29.9% and our newsletter subscribers by 44.6%.