Seeking the right balance: NATO and EU in Dutch Foreign and Defense Policy

No passado, a política externa holandesa foi caracterizada pela expressão “paz, ganhos e princípios”. Na verdade, a política externa holandesa tem características semelhantes à de outras potências médias com desenvolvimento elevado. Enquanto instrumento de política externa, o uso ofensivo das suas forças armadas não é a primeira escolha; muito pelo contrário, o seu cerne está no reforço do primado do Direito Internacional e nas instituições, com o objectivo de criar relações internacionais estáveis e pacíficas. O que realmente distingue a Holanda é a sua ênfase nas relações transatlânticas como forma de manter a sua independência relativamente aos restantes poderes continentais. Devido às mudanças geoestratégicas dos anos 90, esta ênfase tem vindo a perder relevância. Dado que a Europa deixou de ser a prioridade estratégica dos EUA em matéria de segurança e defesa, a Holanda tenta encontrar um novo equilíbrio entre o tradicional transatlantismo, através da NATO, e a emergente Política Europeia de Segurança e Defesa (PESD) da União Europeia

Somalia and the Pirates. ESF Working Paper No. 33, 18 December 2009

Piracy is defined by The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies as an "act of boarding or attempting to board any ship with the apparent intent to commit theft or any other crime and with the apparent intent or capability to use force in furtherance of that act." And it is estimated that from 1995 to 2009, around 730 persons were killed or are presumed dead, approximately 3,850 seafarers were held hostage, around 230 were kidnapped and ransomed, nearly 800 were seriously injured and hundreds more were threatened with guns and knives. (See paper by Rob de Wijk). In November 2009, CEPS held a European Security Forum seminar, in collaboration with the Institute for Strategic Studies, the Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, to focus on the issue of Somalia and the Pirates, chaired by Francois Heisbourg. Four eminent specialists in this field: David Anderson, Rob de Wijk, Steven Haines and Jonathon Stevenson looked at the links with Somalia, and the historical, legal, political and security dimensions of the troubling success of piracy in today’s world. Their conclusions and recommendations for future action are brought together in this ESF 33 Working Paper

Structure characterization of the central repetitive domain of high molecular weight gluten proteins. II. Characterization in solution and in the dry state

The structure of the central repetitive domain of high molecular weight (HMW) wheat gluten proteins was characterized in solution and in the dry state using HMW proteins Bx6 and Bx7 and a subcloned, bacterially expressed part of the repetitive domain of HMW Dx5. Model studies of the HMW consensus peptides PGQGQQ and GYYPTSPQQ formed the basis for the data analysis. In solution, the repetitive domain contained a continuous nonoverlapping series of both type I and type II β-turns at positions predicted from the model studies; type II β-turns occurred at QPGQ and QQGY sequences and type I β-turns at YPTS and SPQQ. The subcloned part of the HMW Dx5 repetitive domain sometimes migrated as two bands on SDS-PAGE; we present evidence that this may be caused by a single amino acid insertion that disturbs the regular structure of β-turns. The type I β-turns are lost when the protein is dried on a solid surface, probably by conversion to type II β-turns. The homogeneous type II β-turn distribution is compatible with the formation of a β-spiral structure, which provides the protein with elastic properties. The β-turns and thus the β-spiral are stabilized by hydrogen bonds within and between turns. Reformation of this hydrogen bonding network after, e.g., mechanical disruption may be important for the elastic properties of gluten proteins

Compartmentalization and persistence of dominant (regulatory) T cell clones indicates antigen skewing in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Autoimmune inflammation is characterized by tissue infiltration and expansion of antigen-specific T cells. Although this inflammation is often limited to specific target tissues, it remains yet to be explored whether distinct affected sites are infiltrated with the same, persistent T cell clones. Here, we performed CyTOF analysis and T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing to study immune cell composition and (hyper-)expansion of circulating and joint-derived Tregs and non-Tregs in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). We studied different joints affected at the same time, as well as over the course of relapsing-remitting disease. We found that the composition and functional characteristics of immune infiltrates are strikingly similar between joints within one patient, and observed a strong overlap between dominant T cell clones, especially Treg, of which some could also be detected in circulation and persisted over the course of relapsing-remitting disease. Moreover, these T cell clones were characterized by a high degree of sequence similarity, indicating the presence of TCR clusters responding to the same antigens. These data suggest that in localized autoimmune disease, there is autoantigen-driven expansion of both Teffector and Treg clones that are highly persistent and are (re)circulating. These dominant clones might represent interesting therapeutic targets

Compartmentalization and persistence of dominant (regulatory) T cell clones indicates antigen skewing in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Autoimmune inflammation is characterized by tissue infiltration and expansion of antigen-specific T cells. Although this inflammation is often limited to specific target tissues, it remains yet to be explored whether distinct affected sites are infiltrated with the same, persistent T cell clones. Here we performed CyTOF analysis and T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing to study immune cell composition and (hyper-)expansion of circulating and joint-derived Tregs and non-Tregs in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). We studied different joints affected at the same time, as well as over the course of relapsing-remitting disease. We found that the composition and functional characteristics of immune infiltrates are strikingly similar between joints within one patient, and observed a strong overlap between dominant T cell clones, especially Treg, of which some could also be detected in circulation and persisted over the course of relapsing remitting disease. Moreover, these T cell clones were characterized by a high degree of sequence similarity, indicating the presence of TCR clusters responding to the same antigens. These data suggest that in localized autoimmune disease there is auto-antigen driven expansion of both Teffector and Treg clones, that are highly persistent and are (re)circulating. These dominant clones might represent interesting therapeutic targets

Gut microbial dysbiosis, IgA, and Enterococcus in common variable immunodeficiency with immune dysregulation

Background: Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and recurrent infections. Significant morbidity and mortality are caused by immune dysregulation complications (CVIDid), which affect around one-third of CVID patients and have a poorly understood etiology. Here, we investigate the hypothesis that gut microbial dysbiosis contributes to the inflammation underlying CVIDid. Results: Bacterial invasion of colonic crypts was observed in CVID (3/15) and X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA, 1/3), but not in healthy control (HC, 0/9) biopsies. Fecal gut microbiota was characterized using 16S rRNA-targeted amplicon sequencing. Increased bacterial load, decreased alpha diversity and distinct beta diversity were observed in CVIDid (n = 42) compared to HC (n = 48), and similar results were seen in CVID with IgA deficiency (n = 40) compared to HC. CVIDid and CVID-IgA showed enrichment of the genus Enterococcus, and in vitro studies confirmed the inflammatory potential of Enterococcus gallinarum and Enterococcus hirae in patient monocytes. Conclusions: This study further supports the hypothesis that a dysregulated gut microbiota, with IgA deficiency as an important driving factor, contributes to systemic inflammation in primary antibody deficiency, and introduces enterococci as potential pathobionts in CVIDid

Between Suicide Bombings and Burning Banlieues: The Multiple Crises of Europe's Parallel Societies. CEPS ESF Working Papers No. 22, 23 June 2006

In addition to the regular "Chairman’s summing-up" by ESF Chairman François Heisbourg, this number in the ESF Working Paper series includes a contribution on "The Role of Islam in Europe: Multiple Crises?" by Amel Boubekeur (CEPS) and Samir Amghar (EHESS, Paris); one entitled "The Multiple Crisis in Dutch Parallel Societies" by Rob de Wijk (Clingendael Institute, The Hague); and "Islam in Russia in 2020", by Alexey Malashenko (Carnegie Centre, Moscow)