Brussels Sprouts

The State of Global Democracy in 2023, with Larry Diamond and Sheri Berman

How should we assess the state of democracy around the world today? Larry Diamond and Sheri Berman join Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, and Carisa Nietsche to discuss the signs of democratic revitalization across the globe.
Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.
Sheri Berman is a professor of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University. Her research interests include European history and politics; the development of democracy; populism and fascism; and the history of the left.

Russian Political Stability: Assessing Putin’s Hold on Power

As we pass the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine, numerous factors such as the Russian military’s poor performance, Putin’s botched mobilization, mounting casualties, economic challenges resulting from sanctions and export controls, and increasingly visible elite fissures are raising questions about the political stability of the Russian regime.
This special edition of Brussels Sprouts includes a recording of a live CNAS event from Thursday, March 2nd. We dive into all of this and more during a conversation with a group of the leading scholars on Putin and authoritarianism. This conversation builds on our recently released Russian stability tracker, which you can find on the CNAS website.
Dr. Timothy Frye is the Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Policy at Columbia University, where he researches comparative politics and the political economy focusing on the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
Dr. Marlene Laruelle is the Director for the Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies and the Illiberalism Studies Program at The George Washington University. She studies the rise of populist and illiberal movements in post-Soviet Eurasia, Europe, and the United States.
Dr. Brian Taylor is the Director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs as well as a professor of political science at Syracuse University. His research focuses on the development of the Russian state, with particular interest in its use of state coercive organizations.
Dr. Daniel Treisman is a professor of political science at UCLA as well as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He studies Russian politics and economics, focusing on democratization, political decentralization, and corruption.

Marking One Year of the War in Ukraine

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the reality is setting in that we are facing a drawn out and protracted conflict. Both the United States and Europe are grappling with this reality, and it is likely that Russia is grappling with this reality as well. This special edition of Brussels Sprouts includes a recording of a live CNAS event from Wednesday, February 22nd. The first half of the discussion will feature a panel looking at the battlefield dynamics in Ukraine, including what we should expect and what Ukraine requires to restore its borders and its sovereignty. A second panel will then dive into the nature of ongoing Western support, including views from Europe and the United States.
Jeff Edmonds is a Research Scientist with the Center for Naval Analyses’ (CNA) 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.
Rob Lee is a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia Program. He is a former Marine infantry officer, and is currently completing his PhD on Russian defense policy at King’s College London’s War Studies Department.
Shashank Joshi is The Economist‘s defense editor. Prior to joining The Economist, he served as a Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and Research Associate at Oxford University’s Changing Character of War Programme.
Steve Biegun is the Weiser International Policymaker in Residence with the Weiser Diplomacy Center at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He has over two decades of high-level government experience, most recently serving as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State.
Kadri Liik is a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Her research focuses on Russia, Eastern Europe, and the Baltic region.
Dr. Claudia Major is head of the International Security Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin (SWP). Her research and publications focus on security and defense policy in Europe in a transatlantic context.

Assessing NATO’s Evolving Role

Over the past year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reinvigorated NATO, with the presence of major war on the European continent highlighting the alliance’s importance for collective defense. While NATO is not directly involved in the conflict, it has assumed a leading role in both coordinating aid to Ukraine and strengthening Europe’s deterrence posture. Benedetta Berti and David Cattler join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss how NATO is confronting this fundamentally altered security environment.
Benedetta Berti is the Head of Policy Planning in the office of the Secretary General of NATO. She is a foreign policy and security researcher, analyst, consultant, author, and lecturer.
David Cattler is NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary General he was a senior national and defense intelligence official of the United States.

The View from Berlin: Transatlantic Relations in 2023

To continue our “New Year” series on Brussels Sprouts, we turn to the state of transatlantic relations going into 2023. The past year has demanded extensive coordination between the United States and Europe in responding to Russia’s war against Ukraine, acting as a stress test for the strength of the transatlantic relationship. So far, unity has largely held, though Germany’s recent hesitation to send tanks to Ukraine and persistent tensions in the economic domain continue to challenge the relationship. Wolfgang Ischinger and Sophia Besch join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Carisa Nietsche to discuss these recent developments in transatlantic relations from a German perspective.
Wolfgang Ischinger is the former chairman of the Munich Security Conference. He also previously served in the German government as State Secretary and Ambassador to the United States.
Sophia Besch is a fellow in the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Her area of expertise is European defense policy.

European Strategic Autonomy: Views from Paris, Berlin, and Warsaw

Over the past year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spurred Europe to devote greater attention to its defense capabilities. Yet rather than providing momentum to Europe’s stated ambitions of strategic autonomy, the war has instead seemed to underscore its continued dependence on the US and NATO for defense. In this seemingly paradoxical moment, what future may lie in store for European strategic autonomy? Liana Fix, Tara Varma, and Justyna Gotkowska join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss how Paris, Berlin, and Warsaw view the outlook for European strategic autonomy.
Liana Fix is a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a historian and political scientist, with expertise in German and European foreign and security policy, European security, transatlantic relations, Russia, and Eastern Europe.
Justyna Gotkowska is the Deputy Director of the Centre for Eastern Studies based in Warsaw, Poland. Her work focuses on security and defense issues in Northern and Central Europe, including defense policies and armed forces’ developments in Germany as well as in the Nordic and Baltic states.
Tara Varma is a visiting fellow in the Center for the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. She focuses on current French defense and security proposals in the European framework, as well as ongoing efforts to materialize European sovereignty in health, economics, climate, energy, and more traditional security fields.

The Outlook for Ukraine in 2023

In the latest installment of our “New Year” series, we take stock of where things stand in Ukraine as we head into 2023. Over the past couple of months, the lines of territorial control have remained mostly stable between Ukraine and Russia following Kyiv’s liberation of Kherson in November. However, many are now looking ahead to intensification of the fighting in the coming weeks. Lawrence Freedman and Mike Kofman join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss how the situation in Ukraine is likely to evolve during the second year of fighting.
 
Lawrence Freedman is an Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London and the author of the recently published book Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine.
 
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.

What the New Congress Means for Transatlantic Relations

To continue our “New Year” series on Brussels Sprouts, we turn our attention to recent events in the United States Congress and their implications for the transatlantic relationship. The beginning of 2023 was marked by significant turmoil in the House of Representatives, as Republicans struggled for nearly a week to elect a new Speaker of the House. Questions about what to expect from this Congress are relevant not only to Americans but also to our allies, including those in Europe. Peter Baker and Sarah Binder join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to break down the short- and long-term implications of the events in Congress as well as how Europeans should view the situation in the U.S.
Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times, responsible for reporting on President Biden, the fifth president he has covered. He previously wrote about Presidents Donald J. Trump and Barack Obama for The New York Times, and Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush for The Washington Post.
Sarah Binder is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and professor of political science at George Washington University, where she specializes in Congress and legislative politics.

What to Expect of Europe-China Relations in 2023

2022 brought about a number of developments in Europe-China relations. While there was continued convergence between European and U.S. policy on China, there are still areas of disagreement when it comes to Beijing. What should we expect for Europe’s relationship with China heading into 2023? Noah Barkin and Mikko Huotari join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Carisa Nietsche to discuss the state of Europe-China relations and the outlook for the year ahead.
 
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.
 
Mikko Huotari is the Executive Director of MERICS. His research focuses on China’s foreign policy, China-Europe relations and global (economic) governance and competition.

The Case for Supporting Russian Civil Society, with Jamie Fly and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Since the invasion of Ukraine, the media environment inside Russia has become increasingly restricted. This represents the acceleration of the Putin regime’s crackdown on the information space over the past several years, including through the targeting of journalists, activists, and news outlets. In this atmosphere, pushing back against efforts by the Kremlin to control the narrative is both more important and more difficult than ever. Two organizations that are continuing to do this work are Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Current Time, which make use of online platforms and anticensorship tools to reach audiences inside Russia who are seeking reliable and trustworthy information. Jamie Fly, Andrey Shary, and Pavel Butorin join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss their work at RFE/RL and Current Time as well as the state of civil society in Russia more broadly.
▪ Jamie Fly is the President and Chief Executive Officer of RFE/RL.
▪ Andrey Shary is the director of RFE/RL's Russian Service, Radio Svoboda.
▪ Pavel Butorin is the Director of Current Time TV, a Russian language digital and TV network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with the Voice of America.