Section: Atlantic Community (Germany)
NATO: Three Integral Discussions to Take Place During This Week’s Summit
On September 4-5, NATO Heads of State and Government will gather at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales. This will be the alliance’s most important summit since the end of the Cold War, a quarter of a century ago. The accepted political order of the last twenty-five years has now been challenged by Russian behaviour in the Ukraine, and NATO...
NATO: American Contribution in Response to Russia Falls Flat
The United Kingdom, joined by several other concerned NATO members, has taken a leadership role in the response to Russian aggression in Ukraine in order to form a new joint expeditionary force. By neglecting to commit support to the endeavor, the US reduces its part to one that fails to live up to historical precedent as a leader in the Atlantic...
How Germany Should Address the Threat of a Large-Scale Conventional Attack
The 2011 German Defence Policy Guidelines state that “a direct territorial threat to Germany involving conventional military means remains an unlikely event”. Though experts may still disagree on the likelihood of the threat, given recent events in Ukraine, there should be consensus about necessity to consider it as a real rather than a...
Expert Q&A: What is the Best Strategy to Decrease EU Energy Dependence on Russia?
The Ukraine crisis highlighted the problems associated with EU dependence on Russian gas, and greater EU energy independence is now a high priority for decision-makers. In our second “Expert Q&A,” we posed this question to 3 energy and EU policy experts: What is the most effective way to decrease EU dependence on Russian energy?...
Solidarity and Confidence Needed to Sanction Russia
The Ukraine conflict continues to deteriorate, but the EU’s major players are still not getting serious towards Russia. Germany, France and the UK are concerned about their immediate economic interests and point fingers at each other. They need political pressure from all of us to compromise and share the burden of confronting Russia with...
Should Finland Join NATO?
The Ukrainian crisis has focused the attention of the international community and global mass media on the region. The annexation of Crimea and the possibility of several regions in eastern Ukraine seceding have been rightly seen as major changes to the post-Cold War geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe. At the same time, these events may...
Event Report: The Cost of Peace and Freedom
The Atlantic Initiative held a public event in Berlin in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation on The Cost of Peace and Freedom: What is security worth to us today? The panel included a security expert and a member of the Bundestag’s budgetary and defense committees. Panelists discussed Germany’s role in global defense...
Highlights of the Summer so far!
We wrap up June with a look back at some of the highlights of summer 2014 so far. With the recent collapse of the Iraqi government’s authority in northern Iraq, the Ukraine crisis and the end of the fifth round of TTIP negotiations, it continues to be an eventful year for the foreign policy community at large. Our members have been...
