Geoeconomics, on the record
Our own survey research among Nordic companies, reports prepared for governments and international institutions, and commentary in the international business press.
The Age of Geoeconomics
Economic power has replaced military force as the main instrument of competition between states. The book explains how that power works, and what it demands of those who lead companies and countries.
What companies are telling us
Short papers built on ESF's own surveys and analysis. Each one answers a question leaders are asking now.
Operating in a Disrupted World
Findings from a survey of Nordic companies in strategic industries. Policy is now among the main sources of disruption, and the time it takes to rebuild or switch capacity is what most limits companies' ability to adjust.
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Prepared for governments and international institutions
Independent analysis that ESF prepares for public and international bodies, published under their name.
Energy Security in the Nordics
Nordic energy cooperation is strong on paper but not yet operational. A roadmap of 25 recommendations, led by a joint Nordic Energy Security Strategy, to move from political commitment to shared procedures and crisis response.
Governing Trusted Supply Chains
Companies accept the logic of trusted supply chains, but the gap between policy ambition and execution persists. Lessons from Australia, Finland and South Korea on making public-private coordination work.
The research behind the practice
Before and alongside ESF, our team has published research with the European Commission, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Finnish Government, and with leading institutes. Selected work since 2009.
Our view, in print
Articles by ESF's team in the international press and for leading institutes, in English, Finnish and German.
The Nokia news can be read as a warning: Business leader, are you talking geopolitics yet?
In Finnish. Finnish companies already recognise geopolitical risk. That is no longer enough: they need to turn geopolitical understanding into competitive advantage.
Economic policy: Naming the fight, still building for it
Part of a multi-author review of Ursula von der Leyen's 2026 State of the European Union address. Geoeconomics now drives EU economic policy, but single market reform lags and the 2027 target looks out of reach.
MOSA: Open interfaces are not enough
In German. The Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) lets the Bundeswehr combine capabilities like building blocks. Open interfaces are only the start: it also demands new coordination, flexible supply chains and joined-up security planning.
Your company needs a geoeconomic moat
Companies have long built moats against competitors. In strategic capitalism, governments pick winners and control assets, so business leaders need a second moat: one against political and economic risk.
Strategic capitalism is the Nordics' new growth model
In Finnish. The Nordic countries need deeper economic cooperation: shared data and energy infrastructure, joint defence procurement and joint industrial investment programmes.
Strategic capitalism: How efficiency stopped being the top priority
Governments now steer investment by security, resilience and strategic advantage rather than efficiency. What strategic capitalism means for where, and how, capital flows.
China's bargain, Russia's lifeline: The geopolitics of Power of Siberia 2
China holds the stronger hand on the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, and the deal cannot replace Russia's lost European gas market. A memorandum is signed, but pricing is still unsettled.
Trump's tariffs: Ushering in a new age of aggressive strategic capitalism
The new US tariff regime marks a turn to state-directed economic policy built on strategic self-sufficiency, with consequences for global trade and for alliances.
The geoeconomic security dilemma
Does the security dilemma, a core idea of security studies, also apply to economic policy? A short read on why one state's economic security measures can leave its partners less secure.
Let Finland and Sweden champion transatlantic economic security
Globalisation's honeymoon is over and dependence has become a vulnerability. Why Finland and Sweden, as new NATO allies, should lead on transatlantic economic security.
Supply chain management and economic statecraft: a five-point agenda
Supply chains tie nations together, yet their security is mostly left to companies. A five-point public-private agenda for supply chain security as part of economic statecraft.
Test how defensible your position is when governments set the terms. Geoeconomic Moat Assessment