The central question: How does geopolitics influence Dutch public administration?

We are very grateful to policy advisor Rein Sloof from the Ministry of Economics and Climate (entrepreneurial climate) for sharing his 10 geopolitical commandments.

Disclaimer: In this interview, Rein speaks in a personal capacity. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Dutch government.

I. To me, geopolitics means…

I have been interested in politics and the European Union from a young age. In fact, I gave a presentation on the EU when I was in primary school. In recent years, that interest has been rekindled by developments around the world.  In the summer of 2021, during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, I was writing about international affairs for EW Magazine (formerly Elsevier Weekblad). Not long afterwards, the war in Ukraine began. That was when I realised that we are living through turbulent times, with the existing world order increasingly coming under pressure.

Outside of my writing, I have also been immersed in international politics for years. I listen to the Dutch podcast Boekestijn en De Wijk every day, and I have Henry Kissinger’s classic Diplomacy on my bookshelf. I am currently also taking a summer course on Regional politics in the Middle East at Tel Aviv University. After some hesitation, I decided to take the course because I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the developments in the Middle East since the Arab Spring. What I find most fascinating about international politics is that events rarely happen in isolation. Individual crises and conflicts are often part of broader developments and patterns. To me, geopolitics is therefore about trying to understand those connections: identifying the interests, shifts in power and historical developments behind the headlines – and understanding how they combine to shape the world around us.

II. Geopolitics is important for the Netherlands

When you look at the political and social debate, I think that in the Netherlands we are very inward-looking. We focus heavily on national issues and problems, while the key determinants of our national prosperity and security are primarily developments abroad. If tensions arise around Taiwan or in the South China Sea, this can have enormous repercussions for the Netherlands. I think that perspective is missing from the debate.

III. The Netherlands is important from a geopolitical perspective

I think many people would say yes. But I am going to give the more controversial answer and say: no. That said, we can be geopolitically significant as part of Europe, provided that the European Union can develop into a geopolitical actor. I think that, in today’s world, the Netherlands increasingly needs to be concerned about its position. This is also demonstrated by issues surrounding ASML and Nexperia, which make it clear that the Netherlands is essentially caught between two power blocs: the United States and China. As an individual country, we actually have little leverage in these situations. We are seeing power politics playing an increasingly important role, while international law is losing some of its influence. This is particularly problematic for small countries, and I think that certainly applies to the Netherlands as well.

IV. Geopolitics influences my work

Here, I would distinguish between the European and national levels. At the European level, I think a number of developments have been set in motion. One example is the various omnibus packages, which aim to simplify burdensome regulation, specifically with the objective of strengthening competitiveness and the business environment within the European Union. I think the Draghi report, which recommend a drastic reduction in regulatory burdens, has put this issue firmly on the agenda. For example, there have been efforts to ease requirements under the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and through the AI Omnibus and Digital Omnibus, which aim to streamline and simplify EU rules relating to artificial intelligence, privacy (GDPR), data and cybersecurity. Another example is ReArm Europe, where procurement procedures are being simplified to encourage investment in defense. These are developments that respond to the changing geopolitical environment.

At the same time, there is a paradoxical dimension to this: the European Union is also a regulatory power. International producers often ensure that their products comply with European standards because it is too costly to maintain two different production lines. It is therefore important to recognize that regulatory burdens have two sides. They are not necessarily negative; they can also serve important societal objectives. At the national level, I think geopolitics plays a much smaller role when it comes to regulatory burdens. The focus there is often more on the quality of legislation and its practicability for businesses. I also work on dossiers that do not really have a geopolitical dimension, for example when it comes to hospitality businesses that face various burdensome regulations. At the same time, the government is also ambitious in its objective of reducing the regulatory burden associated with 500 regulations each year.

V. My colleagues are also involved with geopolitics

I think this varies greatly from one ministry to another. At the Ministry of Defence, of course, a great deal is being invested in this area. At the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK), we also have a new unit focusing on resilience and economic security, thereby responding to the new geopolitical reality. In addition, we assess proposals coming from Europe, such as the omnibus packages, on which the national government has to take a position. In doing so, we naturally also look at aspects such as regulatory burdens.

VI. I know where I can and/or should get my geopolitical knowledge today

I try to follow international newspapers, and I really enjoy listening to John Bolton, the former U.S. National Security Advisor. I also listen to the podcast Boekestijn en De Wijk, as well as international podcasts such as Decoding Geopolitics and The Rest Is Politics with Rory Stewart. Our ministry also occasionally organises seminars or lectures on geopolitics. Recently, there was a lecture by EU expert and analyst Marc De Vos, author of the book Grootmacht Europa (Great Power Europe). I found that very interesting.

VII. Our public administration could better anticipate geopolitical developments

 Yes, I certainly think so. I think that a process has now been set in motion to strengthen resilience, the business environment and competitiveness, partly because of the Draghi and Wennink reports. But I do think this could have happened earlier. I believe resilience should primarily have been approached as a whole-of-society issue, as we see in Finland. Resilience is, of course, also about the resilience of the civilian population. Citizens should not be seen as vulnerable victims, but as capable actors during times of war and crisis.

I think we have missed an opportunity over the past few years, particularly since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Finland has adopted a whole-of-society approach, meaning that the government, businesses, civil society organisations and citizens share responsibility for national security, with arrangements in place for active roles during crises.

VIII. Geopolitics requires new ways of thinking and cooperating

At least in a broad societal sense. If I focus specifically on regulation, one of the recommendations in the Draghi report is that European regulation remains far too fragmented between Member States, meaning that we are effectively creating our own trade barriers.

I think that ultimately, we need to move towards a system in which regulation is much more harmonised. We should work towards a capital markets union. That is a very large project and, at the same time, an extremely complex one, because various national interests stand in the way. In the Netherlands, there is support for greater harmonisation and a stronger internal market, but we still regularly see tendencies moving in the opposite direction. For example, there is sometimes a national tendency in the Netherlands to impose additional national requirements on top of European obligations (gold-plating). That can damage our competitive position, including within Europe.

IX. I can translate geopolitical and theoretical knowledge into practical, relevant information

Yes. The Chinese general Sun Tzu wrote: “Know yourself and know your enemy.” That strategic principle remains relevant for government policy today. When the government subjects a certain sector to more regulation and oversight following incidents, it is often primarily good entrepreneurs who are confronted with additional administrative and regulatory burdens, while rogue actors often operate under the radar and the abuses may persist. Therefore, it is essential for politicians and policymakers to understand not only the market, but also the limitations of their own toolkit. Effective policy requires not just rules, but also insight into the consequences. Against this background, the principle of High Trust, High Penalty gains significance: entrepreneurs are given greater freedom on the assumption that the vast majority of entrepreneurs act in good faith, while violations are punished more severely.

X. Closing remarks

 Always try to understand what is happening abroad. At the summer course I attend at Tel Aviv University, I study alongside Indians, Chinese participants and people from many other parts of the world. I think it is valuable to see and understand other perspectives. One mistake we make in the Netherlands is assuming that we are the centre of the world, while there are many other perspectives and viewpoints around the globe. When I wrote for EW Magazine, I published an article about the constitutional reform in Chile. My proposal for this article elicited many surprised reactions, because Chile is generally not a country that receives much coverage in the Dutch media.

I think it is important that, in our national debate, we also recognize the bigger picture and understand that, for example, we are competing economically with the United States and China, which currently have far more large companies and greater capacity for innovation. When it comes to defence, I also think there should be exemptions for defence-related activities when it comes to nitrogen and environmental regulations, as well as procurement rules. The armed forces should simply be able to conduct exercises. We may find it unpleasant when this happens in our own backyard, but as a population we should recognise that sometimes higher interests are at stake.