Politics on Point

In this inaugural episode of the Transatlantic Talks series, we explore the future of Europe’s defence strategy amidst an evolving transatlantic security landscape. Featuring special guest Michael Kofman, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, this episode delves into NATO’s strategic priorities following the war in Ukraine and the inclusion of Finland and Sweden in the alliance. Join host Michael Zinkanell, Director of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES), as they discuss the challenges of European military investment, NATO's regional defence initiatives, and the broader implications for the U.S.-Europe relationship.

This special series is conducted in partnership with YATA Austria and the Young Transatlantic Initiative, and supported by the U.S. Embassy in Vienna.

In this episode, AIES Research Fellow Livia Benko is in conversation with Kwame Owino, Chief Executive Officer of the International Institute of Economic Affairs Kenya (IEA), to discuss the current state of EU-AU relations against the background of dramatic changes in the international system - above all the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In this episode, AIES Research Associate Nick Nieschalke is in conversation with Max Bergmann, 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), to discuss the current state of transatlantic relations against the background of dramatic changes in the international system - above all the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In this episode, AIES Associate Fellow Lawrence Kettle is in conversation with Una Aleksandra Bērziṇa-Čerenkova, Head of the Political Science PhD programme and the Director of the China Studies Centre at Riga Stradins University, to discuss current challenges and developments in EU-China relations. This episode is the first in a 4-part special series on the EU as a global actor. Future episodes of this series will focus on the EU's relations with the United States, ASEAN, as well as the African Union. This special series is conducted in partnership with the Multilateral Dialoge Vienna of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

In the final episode of the special series on US-Europe relations, AIES Director Velina Tchakarova talked to Dakota Wood, Senior Research Fellow for Defense Programs at the Heritage Foundation, about the prospects of and the West's preparedness for a next Great War.

In the sixth episode of the special series on US-Europe relations, AIES Deputy Director Michael Zinkanell talked to Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security, about the broad spectrum of emerging threats to US and EU security and how the transatlantic community could become more resilient going forward.

In the fifth episode of the special series on US-EU relations, AIES Senior Research Fellow Sofia-Maria Satanakis talked to Benjamin Haddad, Director of the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington D.C., about the US perspective on European defence efforts and integration.

In the fourth episode of the special series on US-Europe relations, AIES Director Velina Tchakarova talked to Dr. Andrew Michta, Dean of the College of International and Security Studies at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, about the global order and transatlantic cooperation in the face of challenges posed by China and Russia.

In the third episode of the special series on US-Europe relations, AIES project manager Katrin Süss talks to Nathaniel O. Keohane, President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), about Climate Diplomacy and the role that the US and Europe have to play in the international effort against climate change.