Crosswinds from the Eastern Flank: U.S. Commitments to NATO in Trump 2.0

This panel, hosted by the SSP Student Council and the Center for Security Studies at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, aims to shed light on the new administration’s policies towards the eastern flank of NATO. President Trump has already stated that NATO allies should increase their defense spending to up to 5% of their GDP and has introduced in the transatlantic conversation the idea of the U.S. withdrawing some of its troops from Eastern Europe.

These statements prompt uncertainty for the future of NATO: How do allies navigate this uncertainty of security arrangements, and what can we expect from the transatlantic alliance in the near future? What shall be the response from European allies, to assure that burden sharing objectives are met? We aim to find a response to these questions, and many others, by engaging in a discussion with distinguished experts from the think tank, political and academia environments.

The event will be opened by a keynote speech and Q&A from Romania’s Ambassador to the United States of America, His Excellency Andrei Muraru.

This discussion will be followed by an expert panel with the following speakers:

- Krista Viksnins, Program manager at CEPA - Center for European Policy Analysis;

- Inga Samoškaitė, Assistant Director, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Transatlantic Security Initiative of Atlantic Council;

- James Siemens, Fellow at the Strategic Foresight Hub of Stimson Center;

- Daniel Kochis, Senior Fellow in the Center on Europe and Eurasia at Hudson Institute;

- Peter Doran, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies;

- Professor Sara Moller from the Center for Security Studies, Georgetown University (moderator).

Refreshments and coffee will be provided.

Host or Publisher School of Foreign Service & Center for Security Studies