Estelle HOORICKX
Researcher of the Centre for Security and Defence Studies
Security and defence architecture ; Threats, challenges and strategic responses ; Belgium ; Europe
Biography
Air force Senior Captain (OF-3) Estelle Hoorickx holds a PhD in Contemporary History and is a research fellow at the Centre for Security and Defence Studies (CSDS). Her research field is focused on the developments in EU’s and NATO’s security environments, including hybrid threats, cyber security, disinformation, climate change, and Belgian actions in those different areas. An expert in the history of NATO and Euro-Atlantic relations, she is the author of ‘La Belgique, l’OTAN et la Guerre froide’ (Racine, 2022, 488 p).
From 2001 to 2005, Estelle Hoorickx taught History and French in Brussels. She carried out a research project at UCLouvain before joining the Belgian Armed Forces in 2005, where she started her military training at the Infantry School in Arlon. She became Force Protection squadron commander at the 15th Wing in 2006 and took part in an ISAF mission in Kabul in 2008. She worked as a military assistant at the chair of History of the Royal Military Academy, where she taught a course on “History of air warfare” until September 2016. She then joined the Centre for Security and Defence Studies as a research fellow. Her expertise is sought in civil and military academic circles, in national and European institutions and in the media. She has attended the Candidate Senior Officer’s Course 2024-2025 at the Defence College.
Expertise
History of NATO and Euro-Atlantic relations
EU’s and NATO’s security environments
Hybrid threats, cyber security, disinformation, climate change, and Belgian actions in those different areas
Military History
Publications
HOORICKX E., « La Haye 2025 : vers un engagement accru des Européens au sein d’une OTAN 3.0 ? », e-note 71, 8 May 2025.
HOORICKX E., « L’OTAN sans les États-Unis : quelle défense pour l’Europe ? », DSI hors-série, August 2024.
HOORICKX E. , « 75e sommet de l’OTAN à Washington. Et ensuite ? », Diplomatie, n°128, July-August 2024.
HOORICKX E., MOSTREY K. et LEROY D., « 24 Years of WPS Agenda Seminar Report: Time for Pragmatism », e-note 59, 29 May 2024.
HOORICKX,E., « Les 75 ans de l’OTAN : défis et opportunités à l’épreuve de la guerre russo-ukrainienne », Revue militaire belge, n°27, 2024.
HOORICKX,E., Hybrid Threats : What are the Challenges for our Democracies ?, e-note 54, 26 janvier 2024.
In the press
« L’armée ukrainienne en difficulté à Koursk : l’Ukraine perd-elle sa monnaie d’échange en cas de négociations ? », entretien avec Pascal Bustamante, RTBF site web, 11/03/25, https://www.rtbf.be/article/l-armee-ukrainienne-en-difficulte-a-koursk-l-ukraine-perd-elle-sa-monnaie-d-echange-en-cas-de-negociations-11515398.
« Sommet extraordinaire à Bruxelles : l’Europe se mobilise », Bonsoir le Prime, LN24, entretien avec Jim Nejman et Catarina Letor, 06/03/2025, https://www.ln24.be/videos/2025/03/06/bonsoir-le-prime-du-jeudi-03-mars-2025-xmrvrfr/.
« Hors de l’Otan, les Etats-Unis ? Voici 4 scénarios de sortie », Le Vif, entretien avec Clément Boileau, 06/03/25, https://www.levif.be/international/amerique/etats-unis/les-etats-unis-bientot-hors-de-lotan-voici-quatre-scenarios-de-sortie-et-leurs-consequences/.
« Chaos mondial », RTL, Edition spéciale, entretien avec Caroline Fontenoy et Christophe Deborsu, 05/03/25, https://www.rtl.be/page-videos/monde/edition-speciale-chaos-mondial/2025-03-05/video/741551.
« L’Europe souhaite se réarmer », 5 minutes pour comprendre, RTBF, entretien avec Marie Vancutsem, 05/03/2025, https://auvio.rtbf.be/emission/5-minutes-pour-comprendre-27980.