Diesen's scholarship sits at the intersection of international political economy and security studies. Its central question is how the distribution of economic power shapes the international order, and how Russia, Europe and the wider Eurasian continent are adjusting to its redistribution.
Where classical geopolitics asks who controls territory, geoeconomics asks who controls the strategic industries, transport corridors and financial instruments on which others depend. Diesen's work develops the concept of a balance of dependence: states seek to reduce their own reliance on potential adversaries while increasing the reliance of others on them. Asymmetric interdependence becomes a source of power, and the pursuit of autonomy becomes a central driver of foreign policy.
This framework explains why Russia, after its efforts to integrate with a Greater Europe stalled, turned towards building a Greater Eurasia; why China has invested in alternative corridors and payment systems; and why European states, dependent on a single security guarantor and increasingly on a single set of suppliers, find their room for manoeuvre narrowing. It also provides a lens on the current transition from a unipolar system to a multipolar one in which the Western-centric institutions of the post-Cold War era compete with new Eurasian alternatives.
The evolution of Russian grand strategy from a "Greater Europe" shared with the EU to a "Greater Eurasian Partnership" anchored in cooperation with China, India, Iran and the states of Central Asia. Key works: Russia's Geoeconomic Strategy for a Greater Eurasia (2017), The Return of Eurasia (2021).
How control of strategic industries, including the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, underpins great-power competition, and why sanctions, decoupling and digital sovereignty have become the instruments of choice. Key work: Great Power Politics in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (2021).
The intellectual tradition of Russian conservatism, its emphasis on continuity and gradual change after a century of upheaval, and its influence on contemporary Russian domestic and foreign policy. Key works: Russian Conservatism (2021), The Decay of Western Civilisation and Resurgence of Russia (2018).
Why the post-Cold War security architecture failed to include Russia, how exclusive institutions produced a security dilemma, and what an inclusive and durable European order would require. Key works: EU and NATO Relations with Russia (2015), The Ukraine War and the Eurasian World Order (2024).
Europe's geographic and economic position as the western peninsula of the Eurasian continent, and the strategic choices available to it as the centre of economic gravity moves east. Key work: Europe as the Western Peninsula of Greater Eurasia (2021).
The history and function of anti-Russian narratives in Western politics, and the role of think tanks and media in shaping the room for diplomacy. Key works: Russophobia (2022), The Think Tank Racket (2023).
A selection of journal articles and policy papers. For the complete list of books, see the bibliography.
Associate editor since 2018 of Russia's leading English-language journal of foreign policy and international relations.
International Institute for Peace (Vienna), Center for Nationalism Studies (Sarajevo) and the journal Contemporary World Economy.
Regular contributor to the Valdai Discussion Club's research programme on Eurasia and world order.