Brussels Sprouts

The Italian Elections, with Nathalie Tocci and Cecilia Sottilotta

This past weekend, voters in Italy went to the polls for national parliamentary elections. As expected, the elections resulted in a victory for the alliance led by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, which received enough votes to govern without support from the center-left. How significant of a change does this result represent for Italy, and how worried should we be about its implications for Europe and the transatlantic community? Nathalie Tocci and Cecilia Sottilotta
join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to move beyond the headlines and assess what Meloni’s victory means for Italian and European politics.
Nathalie Tocci is Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali and an Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen. She was previously Special Advisor to EU High Representatives Federica Mogherini and Josep Borrell, during which she wrote the European Union’s Global Strategy and worked on its implementation.
Cecilia Sottilotta is an Assistant Professor at the American University of Rome. She is a leading expert on political risk analysis and is a frequent media commentator on Italian and European affairs.

New Phase of War: Ukrainian Offensive and Russian Mobilization, with Mick Ryan and Rob Lee

How have recent Ukrainian counteroffensives changed the trajectory of the war? Will Putin’s announcement of Russian mobilization increase the risk of potential escalation? After a highly successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in the North, Putin has now sought to turn the tables with two important developments. First, Kremlin proxies in four Ukrainian regions have announced plans for sham referenda on annexation to Russia. Additionally, Putin has announced a “partial” mobilization in which he plans to bring 300,000 reservists into Ukraine. Mick Ryan and Robert Lee join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the most recent developments shaping the war in both Ukraine and Russia.
Mick Ryan is an Adjunct Fellow with the Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also a retired major general in the Australian army as well as the author of War Transformed: The Future of 21st Century Great Power Competition and Conflict.
Rob Lee is a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia Program and a former Marine infantry officer. He is currently completing his PhD on Russian defense policy at King’s College London’s War Studies Department.

Looking Toward the Balkans, with Damir Marusic and Majda Ruge

What do the war in Ukraine and prospects of E.U. enlargement mean for the Balkans? Damir Marusic and Majda Ruge join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Nick Lokker to discuss how the shifting dynamics across the continent could impact the region’s politics.
Damir Marusic is a resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center. He works principally on the Council’s Balkans Forward Initiative, an effort working to foster a democratic, secure, and prosperous Western Balkans firmly integrated into the transatlantic community.
Majda Ruge is a senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, based in Berlin. Before joining ECFR, she spent three years as a fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute/SAIS at Johns Hopkins University.

Germany’s Shifting International Role, with Jana Puglierin and Sam Denney

During recent weeks and months, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly been in the spotlight, drawing both praise and criticism from observers in Germany and abroad. On the one hand, he has received positive attention for his efforts to promote an ambitious agenda that would transform both Germany and the European Union, attempting to meet the pivotal current moment sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On the other hand, Scholz has encountered significant challenges in executing on this political agenda, facing a worsening energy crisis, a fractious coalition government, and a series of personal scandals. Jana Puglierin and Sam Denney join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss Scholz’s recent speech in Prague, and the shifting dynamics within the European Union that could impact the future of the war in Ukraine.
Jana Puglierin is the head of the Berlin office and a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Her work focuses on German and European foreign, security, and defense policy, as well as Germany’s role in Europe and transatlantic relations.
Sam Denney is a German Chancellor Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung. He specializes in U.S. foreign policy, transatlantic relations, German domestic and foreign policy, and threats to democracy in Europe.

A Looming Crisis in the Indo-Pacific, with Jude Blanchette and Zack Cooper

How does the crisis provoked by Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to Taiwan illustrate the broader state of U.S.-China relations?Jude Blanchette and Zack Cooper join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the likely trajectory of the crisis and its broader implications for the transatlantic community.
Jude Blanchette holds the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Previously, he was engagement director at The Conference Board’s China Center for Economics and Business in Beijing, where he researched China’s political environment with a focus on the workings of the Communist Party of China and its impact on foreign companies and investors.
Zack Cooper is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies U.S. strategy in Asia, including alliance dynamics and U.S.-China competition. He also teaches at Princeton University, co-directs the Alliance for Securing Democracy, and cohosts the “Net Assessment” podcast.

The Latest Phase of the War in Ukraine, with Mike Kofman and Jeff Edmonds

Has the war in Ukraine reached a critical turning point? Mike Kofman and Jeff Edmonds join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the evolution of the military situation and what we might expect from a forthcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Mike Kofman is the Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at CNA as well as an Adjunct Senior Fellow at CNAS. His research focuses on Russia and the former Soviet Union, specializing in Russian armed forces, military thought, capabilities, and strategy.
Jeff Edmonds is a Research Scientist with CNA’s Russia Studies Program and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at CNAS. His research focuses on the Russian military, foreign policy, Russian threat perceptions, and Russian information and cyber operations.

Political Churn in Europe, with Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook and Max Bergmann

What do the recent upheavals in European politics mean for the future of transatlantic cooperation? Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook and Max Bergmann join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the path ahead for Europe.
Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook serves as executive vice president at the Bertelsmann Foundation. Her prior positions include director and CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations as well as executive director of the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Max Bergmann is the director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Prior to joining CSIS, he was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focused on Europe, Russia, and U.S. security cooperation.

The State of EU-China Relations, with Noah Barkin and Francesca Ghiretti

What have been the latest key developments in EU-China relations? Noah Barkin and Francesca Ghiretti join Carisa Nietsche and Jim Townsend to discuss milestones in the relationship and its prospects going forward.
Noah Barkin is a Managing Editor with Rhodium Group's China practice and a Senior Visiting Fellow in the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund.
Francesca Ghiretti is an Analyst at MERICS, where she focuses on EU-China relations with an emphasis on economic security, China's global investments, China's footprint in Southern Europe, and UK-China relations.

The 2022 Madrid NATO Summit, with Ivo Daalder and Doug Lute

What are the most important takeaways from this week’s NATO summit in Madrid? Ivo Daalder and Doug Lute join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss how the alliance is adapting to meet the challenges of a new era
Ivo Daalder is president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He served as the U.S. ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013.
Doug Lute served as the United States Ambassador to NATO from 2013 to 2017. A career Army officer, he retired from active duty in 2010 as a lieutenant general after 35 years of service.

Brussels Sprouts Live with Julianne Smith, U.S. Ambassador to NATO

During the CNAS 2022 National Security Conference, Julianne Smith, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, joined Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend in conversation about Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Then Andrea and Jim were joined by Steven Erlanger and David Sanger of The New York Times to continue the conversation.