NATO Enlargement & the EU

How are NATO and the EU responding to Russian aggression in Ukraine? Dr. Ingo Peters outlines implications for the transatlantic relationship and European geopolitics.

The rhetoric and reality of tectonic shifts in Europe and transatlantic relations since the Russian attack on Ukraine will be analyzed from various angles. Defense relations have been altered within Europe as well as Nato. Energy security moved front and center, altering and accelerating moves towards alternative and renewable energy sources. Despite these enormous pressures, the German traffic light coalition had difficulties adjusting its budget accordingly, while the French nuclear industry struggled to meet expectations. Beyond breathing new life into Nato (which was declared “brain dead” by President Macron and put into question by President Trump not long ago), Russia tries to influence the political discourse in the West, supporting anti-establishment groups and spreading disinformation. This major land war in Europe has changed the equation for European security cooperation and Nato as much as it has upended German and EU “Ostpolitik.” The US is asking for a stronger European pillar in Nato but is weary of any strategic autonomy. How can this and other transatlantic conundrums be resolved? What could Europe’s contributions be to a stable peace in the East?

This podcast features an interview with Dr. Milada Vachudova, Associate Professor of Political Science at UNC–Chapel Hill and Jean Monnet Center of Excellence Key Faculty Member. Dr. Vachudova discusses her ongoing research into populist and ethnopopulist movements in the transatlantic context, as well as democratic backsliding in post-communist European countries.

This podcast features interviews with the organizers of the fall 2020 virtual conference "Encountering Difference, Embodying Boundaries, and Unsettling Borders: Middle Eastern Refugees and Immigrants in the European Union". Hosted, and with introduction and conclusion, by UNC Geography faculty Dr. Banu Gökarıksel. Conference organizers include UNC Geography alumni Dr. Devran Koray Öcal and Dr. Nathan Swanson, and current students Betül Aykaç, Suad Jabr, and Lily Herbert.

This podcast features an interview of Dr. Sherryl Vint (UC Riverside) by Dr. Priscilla Layne (UNC-CH). Dr. Layne is an Associate Professor of German, Adjunct Associate Professor of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies, and Jean Monnet Center of Excellence Key Faculty Member. Dr. Vint is is Professor of Media and Cultural Studies and director of the Speculative Fictions and Cultures of Science program. During their conversation, Drs. Vint and Layne discuss how sci-fi texts shape and inform understanding of contemporary biopolitical trends in Europe and the US.

This podcast features an interview with UNC-CH professors Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens. Evelyne Huber is the Morehead Alumni Distinguished Professor of Political Science. John D. Stephens is the Gerhard E. Lenski, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology. He is also the Director of the Center for European Studies, a Jean Monnet Center of Excellence. They discuss different models and outcomes of welfare states in the EU and beyond, as well as their ongoing project, Increasing Inequality in Post-Industrial Knowledge Economies.

This podcast features an interview with Joseph Dunne, the Director of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington D.C. He discusses the European Parliament’s work in the US, including their relations with US congress and how EU and US politics have changed over the years.

This podcast features an interview with staff at German think tank The Atlantic Academy. Director David Sirakov and Education Manager Sarah Wagner discuss EU-US military relations. The Atlantic Academy is located in Kaiserslautern, Germany, near Ramstein Air Base and also home to the largest community of Americans outside of the US.

This podcast features an interview with UNC political science PhD candidate Kaitlin Alper. She discusses her research on economic inequality in Europe and the US, and its impact on politics in times of crisis.

This podcast features an interview with Professor Phillip Ayoub (Occidental College). He discusses his research on LGBT rights proliferation in Europe, as well as variation in the US and European contexts.