Transatlantic Must-Reads -- A Daily Digest of Analysis and News

Today

Euro crisis; Somalia; Bosnia; Ukraine; Germany and China; Nato; Obama; Global resources

Religion and Politics in a Transatlantic Perspective

Aude Jehan, French Embassy Fellow, Center for Transatlantic Relations, Dr. Amitai Etzioni, George Washington University, Dr. Eliot Sorel, George Washington University, Dr. Robert P. Jones, Public Religion Research Institute, and Dr. Camille Pecastaing, Johns Hopkins University SAIS provided a multidisciplinary perspective of processes of change and re-compositions of the religious in the public sphere and political arena, comparing the importance of religion in politics in the US and in the EU. For a recording of the event click here.

Transatlanticism in the 21st Century

The Right Honourable David Lidington, UK Minister of State, discussed why, in a dramatically changing world, transatlantic relations remain the bedrock of US and UK foreign policy. For a recording of the event click here.

U.S.-Nordic Baltic Cooperation: Shaping the U.S.-European Agenda

On the road to the Chicago NATO Summit, the SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations invites you to join a discussion with leading scholars and practitioners from the United States, the Nordic and Baltic countries on Friday, May 4. During the conference CTR will present the book Nordic-Baltic-American Cooperation: Shaping the U.S.-European Agenda, prepared by experts from the U.S. and the Nordic-Baltic region. A number of authors will take part in the conference to discuss the study. For more information click here. For a recording of the event click here.

For the full report click here.

Sustainable Development at Crossroads: What Perspectives for the RIO+20?

On May 2, Alfredo Sirkis, Congressman of Brazil and chairman of the Rio+20 sub commission of the Commission of Foreign Affairs and National Defense and the vice chairman of the joint Congress Climate Change Commission, discussed the ongoing preparation process for the Rio+20. The discussion focused on the official agenda, but also on the importance of "side events," such as the "Rio Climate Change initiative" promoted by the Brazilian Congress. For a recording of the event click here.

Transatlantic Energy Futures: The Changing Energy Mix and the Implications for the Transatlantic Relationship

On April 26 the Center for Transatlantic Relations in cooperation with the Embassy of the Czech Republic hosted a conference on current energy issues. Starting with the keynote speech of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy, Daniel B. Poneman, the participants discussed how the United States and Europe can cooperate on the ever-changing global energy markets; whether there is an ideal energy mix; and what role shale gas can play in the near future. For a recording of the event click here.

European Crisis and European Solidarity

The Center for Transatlantic Relations and the Department of European Studies at SAIS in cooperation with the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation & the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) hosted the JCMS Annual Review of the European Union Annual Lecture on European Crisis and European Solidarity with Erik Jones, Professor of European Studies, SAIS Bologna Center, and Tim Haughton, Fellow, SAIS Center for Transatlantic Relations, Co-editor, JCMS Annual Review of the European Union. For a recording of the event click here.

CTR and the French Embassy on the Arab Spring

François Delattre, French ambassador to the United States; Salah Tekaya, Tunisian ambassador to the United States; and Hassine Dimassi, Tunisia’s finance minister; provided keynote remarks. Suzanne Maloney, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy; Omer Taspinar, a professorial lecturer in the SAIS European Studies Program and a Brookings Institution fellow; Julie Taylor, a RAND political scientist, discussed “The Arab Awakening: One Year Later” at SAIS on Wednesday, April 18. Click here to hear a recording of the forum.

Bosnia: Time for a New Interests-Based Dialogue

Bruce Hitchner, Professor of Classics and International Relations, Executive Director of the Dayton Peace Accords Project, and Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at Tufts University, spoke at CTR on April 24, 2012. He posits that constitutional reform remains a necessity if Bosnia and Herzegovina is to achieve political stability and integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. Reforming the Dayton constitution through a series of modest compromise amendments, however, no longer seems to be a viable path to this end. Rather, Professor Hitchner proposes a new conceptual framework for constitutional reform, emphasizing the de-ethnization of territory and the de-territorialization of ethnicity. Click here for the article.

The Future of Foreign Affairs Journals

On March 26, CTR hosted a debate on the future of Foreign Affairs Journals. Adam Garfinkle, Editor of The American Interest, Benjamin Pauker, Senior Editor of Foreign Policy and Lucio Caracciolo, Editor of Limes, the Italian Journal of Geopolitics provided interesting insights about the evolution of foreign affairs magazines in a rapidly changing world. Justin Vaïsse, Director of research for the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings Institution moderated the debate while András Simonyi, Managing Director of the CTR chaired the event.

The Future of German in America

The New York Times covered CTR Director Dan Hamilton's efforts to bolster German education in the US here.

CTR Visiting Fellows selected to participate in Young Atlanticist Summit

CTR visiting fellows Andrea Baumann and Gergely Varga have been selected to participate in the Young Atlanticist Summit organized by the Atlantic Council (in partnership with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs) at the NATO Summit in Chicago in May 2012. Dr. Andrea Baumann has been at CTR since October 2011 as a visiting fellow with the Transatlantic Postdoctoral Fellowship in International Relations and Security (TAPIR). Gergely Varga has been a research assistant at the Zrínyi Miklós National Defense University, Institute for Strategic and Defense Studies (ISDS) in Budapest, Hungary since 2008 and equally joined CTR in October 2011.

NEW CTR PUBLICATIONS!

Call for Applications

The Calouste Gulbenkian Fellowship enables each year one outstanding scholar to conduct research on important issues related to transatlantic relations at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, which is based at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C. The fifth Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Fellow will be appointed for a nine (9) month period from October 1, 2012-June 30, 2013. For more information click here.

Featured Commentary

NATO-China Cooperation: Opportunities and Challenges

CTR Fellow Christina Lin on April 19, 2012 testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. For more information click here. Her testimony was mentioned in the Asia Times here.

Western Policies Towards Ukraine Need to Change

CTR's Taras Kuzio comments on Western policies to the increasingly authoritarian Ukraine here on Jamestown Foundation blog.

Time to Overhaul NATO's Partnerships

CTR Managing Director Andras Simonyi argues for a new course in the Washington Times here.

Transatlantic Economy 2012: Creating Jobs, Spurring Growth

CTR Senior Fellow Joe Quinlan presented the Center's annual survey of jobs, trade and investment between the US and Europe at the annual conference of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU. Hear his remarks as well as comments by EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht; EU Ambassador to the US João Vale de Almeida; Assistant USTR Dan Mullaney; and Mark Spelman, head of Global Strategy of Accenture.

Irish Referendum

Former Irish Taoiseach and CTR Distinguished Fellow John Bruton comments on the upcoming referendum here.

Post-9/11 Homeland Security Reforms

CTR Visiting Fellow Erik Brattberg published an article in the Journal for Contingencies and Crisis Management on U.S. post-9/11 homeland security reforms here.

CTR Director Daniel Hamilton comments on Fukushima

Click here for the commentary.

New Books and Analysis from CTR

THE TRANSATLANTIC ECONOMY 2012

The Transatlantic Economy 2012 annual survey offers the most up-to-date set of facts and figures describing the deep economic integration binding Europe and the United States. It documents European-sourced jobs, trade and investment in each of the 50 U.S. states, and U.S.-sourced jobs, trade and investment in each member state of the European Union and other European countries. It reviews key headline trends and helps readers understand the distinctive nature of transatlantic economic relations.

Key sectors of the transatlantic economy are integrating as never before. Europeans and Americans have become so intertwined that they are literally in each other’s business. These linkages underpin a multi-trillion dollar economy that generates millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. The Transatlantic Economy 2012 offers a clear picture of the ‘deep integration’ forces shaping the U.S.-European economic relationship today; shows how these interdependencies have shifted in recent years; and explains how decision-makers can address the accompanying opportunities and challenges.

In the context of today’s debates about jobs, competitiveness, financial crisis, changing economic fortunes and rising powers, The Transatlantic Economy 2012 provides key insights about the United States and Europe in the global economy, with often counterintuitive connections with important implications for policymakers, business leaders, and local officials

A Transatlantic Partnership for Jobs and Growth

The US and EU are considering an ambitious new economic partnership. What should it do? CTR Executive Director Dan Hamilton argues that such a Partnership should be ambitious and range beyond a narrow free trade agreement here, together with further commentary by Pedro Schwartz.

A New NATO Bargain

CTR Senior Fellow and former US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker, together with Karl-Heinz Kamp from the NATO Defense College, sets forth a new Transatlantic Bargain for the Alliance in advance of the NATO Chicago Summit in May. Read it here.

Click here for more CTR publications.

Europe's Financial Crisis

Austerity and Arithmetic. CTR Distinguished Fellow and former Irish PM John Bruton looks at the European deal.
It's Europe's Watershed Moment, argues CTR Director Dan Hamilton.
Martin Neil Baily and Natalie McGarry look at how European countries have dealt with the crisis. For a powerpoint outline click here.

Click here for more commentary and articles on the European financial crisis and other transatlantic economic issues.

Where is Russia Heading?

CTR Fellow Kurt Volker analyzes the Russian presidential elections and the West's "reset" policy for the Christian Science Monitor here.

CTR Fellow Federiga Bindi comments on the Russian elections' effect on Russian-EU relations on CNBC. Click here for details.

CTR Fellow Donald Jensen comments for VOA's Crossfire on

An Agenda for U.S.-EU Relations

Mars and Venus, 10 Years Later. A decade ago Robert Kagan declared that Americans are from Mars, and Europeans from Venus. CTR Senior Fellow Kurt Volker looks back on the debate here in a special edition of Policy Review. For additional essays in the full volume, click here.
Mr. Monti Comes to Washington – But Will He Survive in Rome? Italian PM Monti’s challenges could overwhelm his reformist agenda. CTR Senior Fellow Federiga Bindi comments here. For a shorter version on CNBC click here. She also comments on the topic for formiche here.
What Role for What Rule of Law in EU-U.S. Counterterrorism Cooperation? CTR Non-Resident Fellow Thorsten Wetzling explores the question here.
All For One, One For All: Towards a Transatlantic Solidarity Pledge. CTR Director Daniel Hamilton and Mark Rhinard make the case here.

Click here for more insight and analysis on transatlantic relations

The Arab Awakening: How Should the West Respond?

Syria: The case for military intervention in Syria. CTR Senior Fellow Kurt Volker argues the case in the Christian Science Monitor here.
Syria: CNN cites CTR Fellow Christina Lin: Why China, Russia won't condemn Syrian regime. Click here for her original paper.
Tunisia: What do Tunisia’s elections mean for the future of the country, for the region, and for Western actors? Click here for analysis and commentary. Results and maps (district by district, and party by party) of the first free elections are available here.
CTR Distinguished Fellow Jose Maria Aznar comments on CNBC here.
Cairo in Turmoil: The Egyptian Revolution Part Two. CTR Senior Fellow Klaus Larres comments from Tahir Square here for CNBC.
Libya: Daniel Serwer offers advice on Helping Libya Become a Stable, Independent Nation, in The Washington Post here;
China's New Silk Road to the Mediterranean. CTR Fellow Christina Lin's latest publication, which examines China's concept of the New Silk Road has been selected by ETH Zurich as special feature.
On March 6th, CTR held a politically incorrect debate among Arab, US, and European observers that discussed the Arab uprisings, a year later. Speakers included Robbie Friedmann (Georgia State University), Karim Mezran (Johns Hopkins University-SAIS), Daniele Moro (CTR), Pablo Pardo (El Mundo), Daniel Robinson (Voice of America), and Samuel Tadros (Hudson Institute). Click here for a video of the event.

Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe

CTR Fellow Judit Kozenkow comments on Central Europe's Window of Opportunity here.
CTR Fellow Tim Haughton comments on the recent Slovak elections for pozorblog.com.
CTR Distinguished Fellow and former Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai comments on Republic, Reconciliation, Recovery: On Hungary on at the time of Twelfth Night. Click here for English, and here for Hungarian.
The Western Balkans and the 2012 NATO Summit. Testimony by Daniel Serwer, January 18, 2012, here.
Ukraine Could Do Much More to Renegotiate Gas Price with Russia. CTR Fellow Taras Kuzio wrote an article for the Foreign Notes blog here.

Click here for more analysis and insight on Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

Global Reach: Innovative Communication for a New Diplomacy

Bernard Valero, chief spokesman and assistant secretary of communications and press at the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, discussed "Global Reach: Innovative Communication for a New Diplomacy" at CTR on February 23. Introduction by Andras Simonyi, Managing Director of CTR.

Click here for the video: (Hi-res) (Low-res)

Remarks by Ambassador Peter Taksoe-Jensen at the Congressional EU Caucus Staff Luncheon

Ambassador Peter Taksoe-Jensen spoke at the Congressional EU Caucus Staff Luncheon on March 2, 2012. Read his remarks here.

Swiss Foreign Policy in a Globalized World

Swiss Ambassador to the U.S. Manuel Sager discussed how in a world of rapid change, a small, neutral Alpine nation has played an active role as a mediator between Russia and Georgia, as a protecting power for the U.S. in Iran and Cuba, and as a major force in stabilizing world financial markets.

Click here for a video of the event.
Click here for an article about the event in Il Caffè (in Italian).

Towards a Common Strategy for the Arctic

CTR’s Per Augustsson argues for more comprehensive international strategies for the Arctic and for Nordic leadership on the issue in an article published by the Atlantic Council as part of a project on Nordic-Baltic security in the 21st Century. To read the full-text click here.

Other News

CTR Senior Fellow Michael Haltzel is interviewed in Vienna by the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) about the current condition and future of the OSCE here.

Global Zero and Non-Proliferation
Is a world without nuclear weapons a realistic goal? Michael Rühle comments here.