Brussels Sprouts

BONUS: Europe’s Take on Economic Security with EU Ambassador to the U.S. Jovita Neliupšienė

On this special episode of Derisky Business, CNAS's economic security podcast, Ambassador Jovita Neliupšienė, the European Union's Ambassador to the United States, joins Emily Kilcrease and Geoffrey Gertz for a wide-ranging conversation on Europe's growing role as a economic statecraft power, the importance of the transatlantic alliance in addressing the strategic challenges posed by Russia and China, and why all Americans should drink champagne
Ambassador Neliupšienė recommends listeners tune in to the Trade-Off podcast about the people, politics, and power inside Europe’s trade policy, Trade-Off Podcast.
Further Reading:
EU Competitiveness: Looking Ahead (The Draghi Report)
Containing Crisis: Strategic Concepts for Coercive Economic Statecraft from CNAS
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Exploiting Russian Weakness: Moldova and Georgia at a Crossroads

Later this month, both Moldova and Georgia will hold crucial elections with the potential to profoundly shape their futures. As Russia attempts to reassert dominance along its periphery amid its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin’s actions have triggered different geopolitical reorientations in different countries across the region. Moldova and Georgia illustrate this two-directional trend—while the Georgian government has signaled more alignment with Russia, Moldova is strengthening its ties with the West. However, these shifts may not be final, and the elections this October could either cement or reverse their current trajectories. Given these stakes, Russia has already taken steps to interfere in these elections, and could employ additional coercive tactics threatening stability along NATO’s eastern border in the future. Yet this moment also presents an opportunity for the United States and European Union— while the war in Ukraine continues, the transatlantic partners can take advantage of Russia’s present weakness to rid the region of corrosive Russian influence and more firmly anchor Moldova and Georgia in the good governance, democracy, and economic prosperity that are cornerstones of the Euro- Atlantic space.
 
Laura Thornton is the senior director of global democracy programs at the McCain Institute. Prior to this, she served as senior vice president of democracy at the German Marshal Fund (GMF), and oversaw GMF’s transatlantic trusts.
 
Denis Cenusa is the European Integration Program Director at the Moldovan think tank, Expert-Grup and a lecturer at the University of Giessen.
 
Read the new report! Exploiting Russian Weakness: Leaning in to Support the Pro-Western Orientation of Moldova and Georgia
 

What Can We Expect from a Harris-Walz Foreign Policy?

As the 2024 presidential elections approach, there is increasing speculation about the potential implications for U.S foreign policy. Today on Brussels Sprouts, we will have the first discussion in a two-part series on this topic, focusing first on what we might expect from a Harris-Walz administration. In many respects, Kamala Harris’s foreign policy platform largely signals continuity from the Biden administration, including strong support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and focus on the long-term geopolitical rivalry with China. Nevertheless, there may be some areas where Harris differs significantly from Biden, such as by recalibrating the U.S. position on the Israel-Hamas war. To decipher what a Harris doctrine in foreign policy might look like, we’re very pleased to have Amy Mackinnon and Joshua Keating on the podcast today.  
Amy Mackinnon is a national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy.  
Joshua Keating is a senior correspondent at Vox, where he focuses on world news and foreign policy. 

The Origins of Elected Strongmen: How Personalist Parties Destroy Democracy from Within

This week, CNAS hosted the book launch for The Origins of Elected Strongmen: How Personalist Parties Destroy Democracy from Within, a new book by Dr. Joseph Wright, Dr. Erica Frantz, and Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor. Moderated by Susan Glasser, this event discusses how democracies around the world are being weakened by the actions and efforts of their elected leaders, and how the rise of personalism in democratic politics has become the key culprit for democracy’s ills. Even in democratic systems, leaders are taking on outsized influence relative to the parties that support them to dismantle institutional checks on the executive, deepen political polarization, and weaken supporters’ commitment to democratic norms of behavior leading to democratic backsliding and collapse.  
 
Susan Glasser is a Staff Writer at The New Yorker, where she writes a weekly column on life in Washington, D.C. Prior to this, she served as the founding editor of POLITICO Magazine, the editor of POLITICO, and the editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy.  
Erica Frantz is an Associate Professor in Political Science at Michigan State University, where she focuses on authoritarian politics and the security and policy implications of autocratic rule.  
Joseph Wright is a Professor of Political Science at Pennsylvania State University. There, he examines how international factors influence autocratic rule and democratization.  

Splitting the Atom on U.S. Nuclear Strategy

Earlier this year, the Biden administration revised its nuclear strategy, the nuclear employment guidance, which is updated approximately every four years. This time, however, the administration seems to have made some significant changes, placing greater emphasis on China given its growing nuclear capabilities, as well as directing the United States military to prepare for coordinated nuclear confrontations with Russia, China, and North Korea. To help us understand the significance of these reported changes, James Acton and Jon Wolfsthal join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend on this week’s episode of Brussels Sprouts.  
James Acton holds the Jessica T. Matthews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 
Jon Wolfsthal is the Director of Global Risk at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and an Adjunct Fellow with us at CNAS. 

Germany's Historic Elections and What Comes Next

Germany is currently at a critical juncture, balancing numerous challenges both at home and abroad. Just last weekend, populist parties including the far-right AfD scored substantial gains in two state elections in eastern Germany. Two major factors behind these results are the political salience of migration in the national debate, and discussions surrounding Germany’s support for Ukraine. While Berlin has reaffirmed its backing for Kyiv following its recent offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, long-term prospects for German support remain unclear. Simultaneously, the country is struggling with the issue of significant support for Russia-friendly political parties, and infighting among those in the governing coalition. To unpack all of these ongoing developments in German affairs, Daniela Schwarzer and Christopher Schuetze join Jim Townsend and Andrea Kendall-Taylor on this week’s episode of Brussels Sprouts.
Daniela Schwarzer is a member of the executive board of the Bertelsmann Foundation, where she oversees work on Europe in the world and democracy and societal cohesion. Prior to this, she served as the Executive Director of the Open Society Foundations in Europe and Central Asia and the Director and CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations. She is also an honorary professor at Freie Universität Berlin.
Christopher Schuetze is a reporter for the New York Times based in Berlin. There, he covers politics, society, and culture in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, along with the rise of populism and the far right in Germany.

Assessing the Kursk offensive with Mike Kofman

The Russia-Ukraine war has recently entered a new phase with the Ukrainian military’s offensive in Kursk, marking one of the most significant battlefield developments in more than a year. Pushing steadily into Russia, the Ukrainian armed forces have reportedly seized more than 1,000 square kilometers of territory, capturing critical infrastructure and leading thousands of civilians to flee their homes. While this offensive seems to be placing new pressure on Moscow’s resources that could potentially even have repercussions for Russian political stability, there are nonetheless major questions about Ukraine’s ability to hold this territory as well as the implications for other areas of the battlefront. To help us understand the motivations for this bold move by Ukraine and what it could mean for the future of the conflict, Mike Kofman joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend on this week’s episode of Brussels Sprouts.
Mike Kofman is a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on the Russian military and Eurasian security issues.
 

Brussels Sprouts from the NATO Public Forum on NATO's Ability to Fight Russia and the Importance of the European Pillar

As you might now from our last episode, At the NATO Public Forum in July, Brussels Sprouts roamed the halls of the Marriot Marquis hotel in DC interviewing Public Forum guests and attendees on the key issues that were being discussed both at the Forum, and next door at the historic 75th anniversary NATO Summit.
In our last episode we heard about the mood of the Summit, it’s successes and those areas where it fell short, and about the unsung deliverables-or important outcomes that didn’t get the attention they deserved.
In this episode we’ll hear from conference participants about the alliance’s readiness for a conflict with Russia and on the need to strengthen the European pillar within NATO.
Tune in for:
Steve Flanagan, adjunct senior fellow at the RAND Corporation
Damon Wilson, president and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy
Beth Sanner, a resident distinguished fellow at GMF
Camille Grand, Distinguished Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
 

Cautious Optimism in Washington: Brussels Sprouts and Friends from the Halls of the NATO Public Forum

This week we’re bringing you something a little different. At the NATO Public Forum in July, Brussels Sprouts roamed the halls of the Marriot Marquis hotel in DC interviewing Public Forum guests and attendees on the key issues that were being discussed both at the Forum, and next door at the historic 75th anniversary NATO Summit.
In this episode we’ve pulled together some of the snippets of these interviews, focused particularly on the overall mood of the Summit. We discuss what people think the successes of the Summit are and where it fell short of expectations, and ask them to share their thoughts about key issues the Summit failed to address. We’ll be discussing the current situation in Ukraine, what a bridge to membership for Ukraine might look like, reflections on past NATO enlargement, the role of NATO in supporting freedom and democracy, the European industrial defense base, burden sharing, NATO partnerships and much more.
In this episode, you will hear from:
Damon Wilson, president and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy
Max Bergman, director of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program and the Stuart Center in Euro-Atlantic and Northern European Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Luke Coffey, senior fellow at Hudson Institute
Steve Flanagan, adjunct senior fellow at the RAND Corporation
Liana Fix, fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Sophia Besch, senior fellow in the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Matt Kroenig, vice president and senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
Dan Fried, former U.S. ambassador to Poland
and Mark Newton and Joanne Hamer from the UK Ministry of Defence.

A Night of NATO at the National Archives

Just a few weeks ago, leaders from across the globe gathered in Washington, D.C. for the historic 75th NATO summit. Over the course of the three-day event, allies engaged in discussions surrounding support for Ukraine, strengthening their defense and deterrence capabilities, and deepening NATO partnerships. On this week’s episode of Brussels Sprouts, join us in listening to an edited event hosted on the margins of the NATO Washington Summit by the Center for a New American Security and the Truman Library Institute held at the National Archives Museum. This episode features remarks from Clifton Truman Daniel, along with a discussion of the past, present, and future of the NATO alliance with Mary Sarotte, Stephen Wertheim, and Adam Howard moderated by Steven Erlanger.  
Clifton Truman Daniel is the honorary chairman of the board of the Truman Library Institute and board secretary of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.   
Steven Erlanger is the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for The New York Times covering Europe. Most recently, his focus has been on NATO, United States foreign policy, Russia, and the war in Ukraine.  
Mary Sarotte is the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professor of Historical Studies at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Her book, Not One Inch (2021), analyzes how the tensions between the United States, NATO, and Russia have transformed geopolitics.  
Stephen Wertheim is a Senior Fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is a historian of U.S. foreign policy and analyzes contemporary problems in American strategy and diplomacy. 
Adam Howard is the Historian for the United States Department of State and the Director of the Department’s Office of the Historian.