Brussels Sprouts

More than 1000 days into the War in Ukraine, questions about continued support for the Ukrainian effort and the prospect of a negotiated settlement in the months to come have become all the more important. Trump has refused to say that he wants Ukraine to win the war and has pledged to end the war immediately. To help us make sense of this, Mike Kofman and Rob Lee join 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, Ukrainian armed forces, and Eurasian security issues.   Rob Lee is a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia Program and a leading expert on Russian military affairs.   

For this special edition episode of Brussels Sprouts, Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend join forces with The Eurofile from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to reflect on the outcome of the recent United States presidential election with Max Bergmann and Donatienne Ruy. Listen in as they discuss what a second Trump term may mean for Europe, Ukraine, and United States relations with Russia.    Max Bergmann is the director of the Stuart Center and the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at CSIS.   Donatienne Ruy is the director of the Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy and a Fellow with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia program at CSIS.    More information on The Eurofile and the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program can be found here.  

Despite the many proclamations that Russian and Chinese interests would collide in Central Asia, Moscow and Beijing continue to work together in service of their shared objectives. A new report from CNAS analyzes how the relationship is shaping the region. Read it here: Russia and China in Central Asia: Cooperate, Compete, or De-conflict? Most importantly, Russia and China seek to keep the United States, the West, and democracy out of the region, maintain stability, and pursue economic benefits. Though fissures exist, thus far the two countries have kept tensions from derailing the broader Russia-China relationship in Central Asia. To discuss these issues and more, Reid Standish and Alex Cooley join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend on this episode of Brussels Sprouts.  Reid Standish is an Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent in Prague and author of the China In Eurasia briefing.    Alex Cooley is the Claire Tow Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University and an Academy Adjunct Faculty member at Chatham House.  

Since the war in Ukraine began, the European Union has provided substantial military support to Kyiv. Yet years of underinvestment and a lack of coordination mean that Europe’s defense industrial base has struggled to keep up with demand. While there is a renewed sense of urgency to tackle this issue, in September, NATO’s outgoing secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg warned against EU defense efforts duplicating or competing with NATO, given scarce funding and personnel. What is the role of the EU when it comes to defense issues? Does the EU have a role in supporting the development of the defense industrial base? And how can EU and NATO efforts to support Ukraine be mutually supporting rather than cut across each other? To discuss these questions and more, Benedikta von Seherr-Thoss and Max Bergmann join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend on Brussels Sprouts.    Dr Benedikta von Seherr-Thoss is the Managing Director for Peace, Security and Defence at the European External Action Service.   Max Bergmann is the 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 (CSIS).  

This past Tuesday, Russia hosted a high-profile summit of the BRICS group in Kazan, Russia, demonstrating its growing determination to challenge the Western-led international order. As the group has expanded its membership during the past year, it has grown to encompass nearly half of the world’s population, lending it greater credibility as a platform for reflecting an increasingly multipolar world. Yet despite this expansion, the BRICS group continues to face internal divisions. Looking ahead, how should we interpret the evolving role of the BRICS, and what does this evolution mean for policymakers in the United States and Europe? To unpack all of this and more, Alexander Gabuev joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Kate Johnston on this week’s episode of Brussels Sprouts.     Alexander Gabuev is the Director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.  His research is focused on Russian foreign policy with particular focus on the impact of the war in Ukraine and the Sino-Russia relationship.  

As the 2024 presidential elections draw nearer, it’s becoming increasingly urgent to understand the potential implications for U.S. foreign policy. This week, Brussels Sprouts continues its two-part series focusing on the election by shifting focus to the foreign policy that could emerge under a Trump-Vance administration. To discuss all of this, Michael Allen and James Carafano join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Kate Johnston on this week’s episode. Michael Allen is a managing director at Beacon Global Strategies, where he specializes in national security and foreign policy. James Carafano is Senior Counselor to the President and E.W. Richardson Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, where he works on national security and foreign policy challenges. 

NATO marked its 75th anniversary this year – a testament to the strength and continued relevance of the alliance. Celebrations have been muted however, due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and increasing concerns from Europe about US commitments to transatlantic security. The role of NATO is as crucial now as it was 75 years ago but the security threats the alliance faces are evolving, and growing in complexity.    To discuss these issues Ambassador Anniken Huitfeldt, Mark Newton, Maria Markowska, and John Deni joined Rebecca Moore for a live episode of Brussels Sprouts at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.   Ambassador Anniken Huitfeldt is the Norwegian Ambassador to the USA and was previously the Norwegian Foreign Minister from 2021 to 2023.   Mark Newton is Minister Defence (Director USA) at the British Embassy in Washington DC.   Maria Markowska is the First Counselor and Head of the Political Section at the Polish Embassy in Washington DC.   Dr John Deni is a Research Professor of Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) Security Studies at the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute  Dr Rebecca Moore is a professor of Political Science at Concordia College.  

One year after the October 7 attacks by Hamas, the crisis in the Middle East has grown more and more complex. With the region teetering on the brink of broader conflict, the Biden administration is facing increasing pressure to mediate and prevent an all-out war. Meanwhile, regional dynamics are becoming more intertwined with broader geopolitics, as highlighted by Israel’s recent strike near a Russian air base in Syria. The nexus between the war in Ukraine and the Middle East crisis has also raised alarms about shifts in global alliances and resources, including concerns that Moscow may be assisting Tehran’s nuclear program amidst their deepening ties. To discuss these pressing developments and what they mean for the future of the region, Jonathan Lord and Hanna Notte join Andrea Kendall-Taylor on this week’s episode of Brussels Sprouts. Jonathan Lord is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. Hanna Notte is the director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and a Senior Associate in the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

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 Subscribe to Derisky Business!  Apple Podcasts Spotify Website

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

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. 

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.  

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 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.

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.  

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.  

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.

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.  

Last week, Washington, DC hosted the NATO summit – marking the historic 75th anniversary of the alliance. Despite the significant milestone, the mood was serious in DC with the war continuing to rage in Ukraine and increasing concern from European allies about the reliability of the United States as a partner in the long term. Though Ukraine emerged as the focus of many discussions, allies also strengthened language on China, emphasizing the challenges that Beijing poses to Euro-Atlantic security. Moreover, Iran and North Korea were also called out for their direct military support to Moscow. To unpack the discussions of the last week, and the challenges faced by NATO today, David Quarrey and Axel Wernhoff join Kate Johnston and Jim Townsend on the podcast today.   David Quarrey is the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to NATO. Previously, he served as the Prime Minister’s adviser on International Affairs and Deputy National Security Advisor from 2019-2022, and the British Ambassador to Israel from 2015-2019.    Axel Wernhoff is the Permanent Representative of Sweden to NATO. Prior to this, he served as the Ambassador of Sweden to Norway.   

  From July 9th to 11th, NATO will hold its historic 75th-anniversary summit in Washington, DC. On the sidelines, CNAS and other think tanks will host the NATO Public Forum. Though the summit will in part be a celebration of the alliance’s enduring success, it also comes at a time when NATO is grappling with numerous challenges. The most pressing issue is of course Ukraine, as NATO members will need to continue to work together to provide Kyiv with support in its efforts to fight off Russia’s invasion. Beyond Ukraine, NATO must navigate the ongoing modernization of its defense and deterrence plans, the increasing risk of hybrid attacks from Russia, the transition to a new Secretary General, and much more. To offer a preview of the Summit and what we should expect, Douglas Lute and Kurt Volker join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend on this week’s episode of Brussels Sprouts.    Douglas Lute served six years in the White House during two administrations as well as in the role of U.S. Ambassador to NATO during the second Obama-Biden term.    Kurt Volker previously served as U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations from 2017 to 2019 and as U.S. Ambassador to NATO from 2008-2009.