- November 06, 2019
On November 6, 2019 the Aspen Institute Germany hosted its sixth annual Berlin Transatlantic Forum entitled “Fit for Purpose? The Transatlantic Relationship and the World of Tomorrow.” Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this conference took stock of the transatlantic relationship and discussed lessons learned for the future.
One-on-one conversations with former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, former President of the World Bank Robert Zoellick and Minister of State Niels Annen offered a retrospect in the 1989’s historic events and an analysis of today’s challenges for the transatlantic partnership.
In his welcome remarks Michael Müller, Governing Mayor of Berlin, highlighted the importance of the transatlantic bond not only for German unification, but especially for the city of Berlin.
The conference also featured TED-style pitches on the future of Atlanticism from Member of the Bundestag Franziska Brantner, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, Cathryn Clüver from Harvard, Henry Farrell from George Washington University, Michael Anton from Hillsdale College and Yu Jie from Chatham House. Putting the focus on the next generation of transatlantic decision-makers, Member of the European Parliament Robert Biedron, CSIS’s Rachel Ellehuus, Andras Fekete-Györ from Momentum Movement in Hungary, Member of the Bundestag Metin Hakverdi and Annabelle Chapman, Correspondent for The Economist, discussed the differences in priorities and outlook for the Europe-US relationship in the post-Cold War generation.
Finally, exploring the influence of digitalization on national security, Katrin Suder, Chair of the Digital Council to the German Chancellor and the Cabinet, and former NATO SACEUR Philip M. Breedlove talked about how new actors and cyber warfare challenge the conventional set-up of national defense and military alliances.
The Berlin Transatlantic Forum is made possible by partners including the Lotto Stiftung Berlin, Volkswagen AG and Lockheed Martin.
The conversation with Dr. Madeleine K. Albright was recorded and aired by Deutschlandfunk Kultur on November 9, 2019 and can be found on its website.
A transcription of Robert Zoellick’s speech can be found here.
The TED-style talks highlighted different aspects of the transatlantic relationship and its future development. Listen here to Cathryn Clüver’s talk on the role of cities and states in international relations and how their actions are shaping the transatlantic partnership.
