Evolving Geopolitical Architectures: Insights from Marco Marchetti on Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia

Prof. Dr. Marco Marchetti is a seasoned academic and diplomat with 25+ years of teaching and leadership experience in international law, diplomacy, and governance. Former Deputy Ambassador for the Holy See in Africa and the Maghreb, with governance clearance and extensive involvement in political risk analysis, human rights, and multilateral relations. Currently Full Professor and Chancellor at Nusa Putra University. Expert in legal ethics, compliance, and stakeholder relations, with strong experience organizing global partnerships, managing complex budgets, and advising high-level institutions.

SPCIS: How do you see institutional cooperation evolving between Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia in the current global context?

Prof. Dr. Marco Marchetti: Trump’s tariffs war that was like a miscue when playing billiards: it set all the balls in motion creating new equilibriums. Many things are still shifting, so it seems premature to speak of redefinition of alliances or competitors. However, for Europe, Asia and Africa there are now new geometries of encounters bypassing the White House. The fear of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict spreading to Iran or the Gulf and the China-Taiwan tensions, combined with the persistence of major conflicts like those in Ukraine or Sudan, are leading to general rearmament and international law delegitimization, and not to a stronger efforts in building diplomatic platforms. The EU is third largest demographic bloc after China and India, and ahead of US and if EU were a single country, it would be the world's second largest economy with 18% of global GDP. But despite that potential, EU seams uncapable to express a unique voice. Africa and Asia often questioned the silence of EU, but they are also bogged down in regional particularisms and internal political crisis so, instead of building a society of Nations aiming to peace and based on universal rights, we are dispersing in financial quarrels and show of power.

SPCIS: What lessons can emerging regions draw from Europe's experience in building supranational institutions?

Prof. Dr. Marco Marchetti: The liberal political class that rebuilt Europe from the ruins of two world wars and millions of deaths, believed the priority was creating a sense of shared belonging between the people of different country and then the institutions would follow naturally. And that's exactly what happened. The European Union was raised by citizen awareness, student exchanges among all European universities, the elimination of tariffs and customs controls, and only then created governing bodies.

SPCIS: How do regional governance models differ between Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe, and what can they learn from each other?

Prof. Dr. Marco Marchetti: Finding similar models in these three areas is almost impossible, primarily for historical reasons. Whether we like it or not, most countries in today's European Union have already experienced periods of cohesion and political unity: they formed a single state for nearly 500 years under the Roman Empire. Even after the empire's fall, shared Christian roots and Latin heritage provided a common foundation. Until the French Revolution, virtually all educated Europeans spoke Latin, and the Roman Law was universally accepted from Scotland to Sicily, from Spain to Poland. For many, the EU is like a “coming home” of the medieval dream of an unified continent. For African countries and ASEAN members, the common identities are more regional than continental. Within South & East Asia alone we have countries where the state religion is Buddhism (Cambodia and Thailand) or Islam, with the application of sharia law (Malaysia and Brunei), or just the world's biggest Muslim population (Indonesia) others with significant Catholic majorities (Philippines, Papua, East Timor), and finally nations proud of their secular character (Singapore and Vietnam). It's hard to identify historical common factors in these systems. So far, the driving forces have been conflict mediation (with limited success for Africa) and economic-financial partnership. But both ASEAN and the African Union face a fundamental problem: their only representative bodies consist of Heads of State and Ministers. Ordinary citizens have no voice, and when people cannot express themselves, they become disengaged. Perhaps time has come for AU and ASEAN to develop some form of elected Assembly and give it some legislative power.

SPCIS: What role do comparative politics play in shaping international governance across diverse regions?

Prof. Dr. Marco Marchetti: When you start later, you are maybe behind other people, but you also have the invaluable advantage of learning from their mistakes. Comparative politics enables exactly this: identifying flawed strategies before watching them fail.

SPCIS: How was the recent Chinese military parade perceived within European and Indonesian policy circles, in your view?

Prof. Dr. Marco Marchetti: There's a wonderful English expression for that: lost in translation. In every action, the Chinese Communist Party addresses at least three audiences: domestic, foreign, and party members themselves. China faces now multiple challenges: demographic crisis, rural- urban migration, industrial working conditions, ethnic tensions involving Uyghurs and Tibetans and, of course, the Taiwan issue. Throughout all this, President Xi with his 13 years in power, has far exceeded the informal ten-year term limit of his predecessors. Add to this the ongoing internal debate about China's contribution to ending WWII and you have the context. I do think Xi's primary message was for domestic audience: harmony and order under strong leadership. However, many West foreign ministries felt it like a direct provocation.

For Indonesia's viewers China was not important. More important was the participation of their President. Prabowo until the last moment decided not to attend due to public protests. Ultimately, he went, justifying the visit as necessary for maintaining foreign relations. Many still criticized his choice, arguing a President should prioritize domestic problems over symbolic international events. Moreover, appearing alongside leaders like Putin and Kim Jong-un questioned his alignment with authoritarian regimes and Indonesia neutrality. Finally, after the visit, Jakarta newspapers reported a commitment to purchase Chinese fighter jets for millions of dollars. Prabowo denied such agreement, but Indonesian citizens view this phase of his presidency as lacking transparency.

SPCIS: What opportunities exist for constructive dialogue between the EU, Indonesia, and China to maintain regional stability?

 

Prof. Dr. Marco Marchetti: These three strategic partners maintain good bilateral relationships but have never truly sat together at the same table. Indonesia has signed an MoU with EU for a free trade agreement, with final signing scheduled for December. The EU already has significant agreements with China, but Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative ultimately failed to convince either Europe or Indonesia. It's therefore difficult to claim these three countries are playing the same game: Europe struggles to develop a unified foreign policy voice and has typically followed America's lead; China seeks a multipolar world with multiple power centers and has demonstrated both firmness and responsibility; Indonesia has traditionally favored non-interventionist and non-aligned policies, yet its BRICS membership and regional power ambitions seem to contradict these principles. We'll soon see what moves each actor makes.