Episode 139: The German-Polish Relationship amid Changing European Security Challenges
Jeff Rathke
President of AGI
Jeffrey Rathke is the President of the American-German Institute in Washington, DC.
Prior to joining AGI, Jeff was a senior fellow and deputy director of the Europe Program at CSIS, where his work focused on transatlantic relations and U.S. security and defense policy. Jeff joined CSIS in 2015 from the State Department, after a 24-year career as a Foreign Service Officer, dedicated primarily to U.S. relations with Europe. He was director of the State Department Press Office from 2014 to 2015, briefing the State Department press corps and managing the Department's engagement with U.S. print and electronic media. Jeff led the political section of the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur from 2011 to 2014. Prior to that, he was deputy chief of staff to the NATO Secretary General in Brussels. He also served in Berlin as minister-counselor for political affairs (2006–2009), his second tour of duty in Germany. His Washington assignments have included deputy director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs and duty officer in the White House Situation Room and State Department Operations Center.
Mr. Rathke was a Weinberg Fellow at Princeton University (2003–2004), winning the Master’s in Public Policy Prize. He also served at U.S. Embassies in Dublin, Moscow, and Riga, which he helped open after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Mr. Rathke has been awarded national honors by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as several State Department awards. He holds an MPP degree from Princeton University and BA and BS degrees from Cornell University. He speaks German, Russian, and Latvian.
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Justyna Gotkowska
Centre for Eastern Studies
Justyna Gotkowska is Deputy Director at the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) and head of the Security and Defence Department. Formerly, she was Coordinator of the OSW’s Regional Security Programme and analyst in the Department for Germany and Northern Europe. She is a graduate of the Institute of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warsaw and of European Studies at the RWTH Aachen University. She was visiting scholar at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies and at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich. She regularly participates in multinational research projects, including at Think Visegrad, Estonia’s ICDS, and Germany’s DGAP.
The European security landscape is shifting. The United States is pressuring Europe to manage the defense of its region, and many NATO allies have growing doubts about the long-term reliability of the U.S. security guarantee, even as Russia continues aggression at NATO’s doorstep. German Chancellor Merz has articulated the goal for the Bundeswehr to be the strongest military in Europe. How does this ambition sit with one of Germany’s most important European partners—Poland? Justyna Gotkowska joins The Zeitgeist to discuss how Poland is adjusting to these changes. She discusses Polish views on German-Polish relations, how Poland is reassessing its security partnerships, and the fault lines within Polish defense and strategic thinking.
Host
Jeff Rathke, President, AGI
Guest
Justyna Gotkowska, Deputy Director and Head of the Security and Defence Department, Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW)
