A New Direction? German Foreign and Security Policy and the 2021 Bundestag Election

In this AGI webinar, foreign policy experts discuss the top foreign policy issues of the upcoming German federal election campaign and to what extent German foreign policy will change with a new government.

The challenges ahead for the incoming German chancellor will be substantial. On the continent Russia is massing troops on the Ukrainian border and the disputed new Nordstream pipeline is close to beginning operations. Germany’s largest trading partner has become China, which has been identified by the European Union as a systemic rival. How will these challenges and others impact the campaign dialogue and debate? To what degree might a new chancellor assume an expanded role in Europe, a more active role in the Asia-Pacific? In the global arena? Where does the German public stand on these issues leading up to the election? A panel of three experts will address the German elections and consider the direction that a new coalition may take as the Merkel era comes to an end.

Speakers:

Angela Stent, Professor and Director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian & East European Studies, Georgetown University
Peter Wittig, Rohwedder-Horvath Ambassador-in-Residence, Georgetown University; Former German Ambassador to the United States
Robert Zoellick, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Former President, World Bank Group
Moderator: Dr. Gale A Mattox, Director of the Foreign & Security Policy Program, AGI; Professor in the Political Science Department, U.S. Naval Academy

This webinar is supported by the AGI Harry & Helen Gray Culture and Politics Program and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is presented in partnership with The Aston Centre for Europe, Aston University, Birmingham, UK; the International Association for the Study of German Politics; and the BMW Center for German and European Studies, Georgetown University.