Future of Diplomacy Project

The following is an event write-up about the recent Future of Diplomacy Project (FDP) seminar on “The Future of Ukraine: Reconstruction, Energy Security, and Innovation” moderated by Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky, Senior Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project. 

U.S. President Joe Biden spent five hours in the Ukrainian capital on Monday, meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky and even taking a stroll through the streets of Kyiv – despite the sound of air sirens – to visit The Wall of Remembrance, which displays portraits of the approximately 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers who have died since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

The trip was kept under a media blackout until a few hours after Biden’s arrival, with the president’s official schedule only saying he would fly in the evening to Warsaw for a planned visit. The New York Times reported, quoting an anonymous official source, that Biden arrived in Kyiv early this morning after making the same 10-hour long journey from Poland that every world leader visiting Ukraine since the start of the war has.

Cop26 — the 26th Conference of the Parties — is a UN meeting that will bring together representatives of more than 190 countries with only one aim: tackling climate change.

From Afghanistan to the AUKUS alliance, the brief honeymoon between the European Union and U.S. President Joe Biden’s America looks to be over. But it’s important to remember, after the overinflated optimism that followed the end of the Trump years, that transatlantic relations have always had their frictions and frustrations, their ups and their downs — and we’re ready for a rebound once again.

Please join the Future of Diplomacy Project's Fisher Family Fellow, Ambassador Peter Wittig, for a virtual study group that explores how and to what extent the first 100 days of the Biden presidency has reset the transatlantic partnership.

What will Angela Merkel and Joe Biden discuss during the Chancellor's visit to the USA? Listen in for more. [translated from German; interview in German]

Chancellor Merkel visits the White House in what is likely to be her last such meeting after 16 years in power. U.S.-German relations have improved since the Trump era, but there are differences.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will meet President Biden for talks at the White House during what will most likely be her final trip to Washington before leaving office.

What is the significance of Angela Merkel’s upcoming White House for the future of U.S.-German relations? Cathryn Clüver and Jeff Rathke join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the most important aspects of the July 15 meeting and how the U.S. and Germany can work together on a range of issues going forward.

This year marks the end of an era in German and European politics: Angela Merkel, the ever "reluctant leader of the West," will end her historic tenure as Chancellor. During the past 16 years, Chancellor Merkel has symbolised continuity, predictability, and stability for many European and international partners. But the world has become a less predictable and stable place during her tenure: Germany now faces a watershed moment for its European and international policy. Against this backdrop, Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook reflects on how changing transatlantic ties, a challenging economic and political relationship with China, the recovering economy in Europe and the Eurozone and the weakening of the democratic fabric across Europe will dictate foreign policy options for the next German Chancellor.