A New Era? U.S. Leadership after the Election and Europe’s Security Landscape

In some U.S. states early voting has begun, and voters across the country are getting ready to head to the polls on November 5. In Europe there is concern about what the new administration in Washington might look like. With changes in leadership come evolving priorities in foreign and defense policy, which will have significant implications for Europe’s security architecture. This discussion will examine how the new administration’s approach to NATO, diplomacy, and global alliances could reshape the continent’s security landscape, fostering both opportunities and challenges for Europe as it navigates this pivotal moment in international relations.

Join  and the American Council on Germany the Aspen Institute Germany for a virtual discussion as a part of the Road to Election series on Thursday, October 24, at 11:00 am ET with Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis and former Commanding General, United States Army Europe, and Dr. Claudia Major, Head of the International Security Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).

Lieutenant General Ben Hodges served as Commanding General of United States Army Europe from 2014 to 2017 before his retirement from the Army in early 2018. Based in Frankfurt, he is currently a Senior Advisor to Human Rights First. General Hodges has also served in a variety of Joint and Army Staff positions, including Tactics Instructor; Chief of Plans, 2nd Infantry Division, in Korea; Aide-de-Camp to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe; Chief of Staff, XVIII Airborne Corps; Director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Coordination Cell on the Joint Staff; Chief of Legislative Liaison for the United States Army; and Commander of NATO Allied Land Command (İzmir, Turkey). After his first assignment as an Infantry Lieutenant in Garlstedt, Germany, he commanded Infantry units at the Company, Battalion, and Brigade levels in the 101st Airborne Division, including Command of the First Brigade Combat Team “Bastogne” of the 101st Airborne Division in Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2004). His other operational assignments include Chief of Operations for Multi-National Corps – Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom (2005-2006) and Director of Operations, Regional Command South, in Kandahar, Afghanistan (2009-2010).

Dr. Claudia Major is Head of the International Security Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin. Her research, advisory work, publications and media contributions focus on security and defense policy in Europe and in a transatlantic context (NATO, EU, Germany, UK, France). Recent publications deal with Germany’s security and defense policy, NATO’s strategic adaptation and future development, developments in EU defense, strategic autonomy and Franco-German relations in defense. Previously she held positions at the Center for Security Studies at the ETH Zurich, the German Council on Foreign Relations, the EU Institute for Security Studies (Paris), the German Foreign Office and Sciences Po Paris. She is a member of various boards, including the Advisory Board for Civilian Crisis Prevention at the Federal Foreign Office. She holds a diploma from Sciences Po Paris and the Free University Berlin and a PhD from the University of Birmingham, UK.