Transatlantic Relations After the Election

Join us for a roundtable discussion of the state of the transatlantic relationship in the wake of the U.S. Presidential Elections. Featuring: Dr. Mai’a Cross, Edward W. Brooke Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at Northeastern University;  Ignacio Garcia-Bercero, Director in DG Trade of the European Commission and former TTIP Chief Negotiator; and Dr. James Goldgeier, Professor at the School of International Service at American University; and moderated by Dr. Steven E. Sokol, President of the American Council on Germany.

Dr. Mai’a K. Davis Cross researches international cooperation, especially in the areas of European foreign and security policy, epistemic communities, crises, diplomacy, and public diplomacy. She is the author of three books: The Politics of Crisis in Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2017), Security Integration in Europe: How Knowledge-based Networks are Transforming the European Union (University of Michigan Press, 2011), and The European Diplomatic Corps: Diplomats and International Cooperation from Westphalia to Maastricht (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007). Her second book was the 2012 winner of the Best Book Prize from the University Association of Contemporary European Studies. She is also co-editor of (with Jan Melissen), European Public Diplomacy: Soft Power at Work (Palgrave, 2013), a special journal issue (with Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski), Europe’s Hybrid Foreign Policy: The Ukraine-Russia Crisis (Journal of Common Market Studies, 2016), and (with Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski) European-Russian Power Relations in Turbulent Times (University of Michigan Press, in press). Her current single-authored book project is entitled, The Ultrasocial World: International Cooperation Against All Odds, which draws upon new insights about human nature from evolutionary biology, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, anthropology, among others, to examine the underlying causes and processes that have led to unanticipated instances of international cooperation across time. In addition to these major works, Dr. Cross has also written over 40 articles and book chapters on a wide range of topics, including European defense, counter-terrorism, crises, intelligence sharing, and space.

Ignacio Garcia Bercero is a Director at the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission (DG TRADE). He currently oversees activities related to the US, Canada and the EU Neighbouring Countries. Mr. Garcia Bercero coordinated the work of the EU-US High Level Working Group on Growth and Jobs, which recommended the launch of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. He now acts as the EU Chief Negotiator for this agreement.

Mr. Garcia Bercero joined the European Commission in 1987 and has thorough experience in a large number of trade-related policy areas. During the Uruguay Round of multilateral negotiations, he followed, inter alia, negotiations on trade safeguards, GATT articles, functioning of the GATT, as well as talks on trade and environment. In the period leading up to the launch of the WTO Doha Round, he served as coordinator of the EU WTO policy and led the negotiations on trade and competition. He was also posted in the EU Delegation to the United Nations in New York and worked in areas of WTO Dispute Settlement and Trade Barriers Regulation.

More recently, between 2005 and 2011, Mr. Garcia Bercero’s field of responsibility included trade-related aspects of sustainable development, as well as bilateral trade relations with South and South-East Asia, Korea, EuroMed and the Middle East countries. As the Chief Negotiator, he led the negotiating process with South Korea and India. Mr. Garcia Bercero authored several papers and publications on the subjects of Trade Laws, GATT and WTO System, Safeguard Measures, Trade and Competition, WTO Dispute Settlement Reform and bilateral dispute settlement rules in European Free Trade Agreements. Mr. Garcia Bercero holds a Law Degree from the Faculty of Law of the Universidad Complutense, Madrid and a Masters of Laws Degree (with Distinction) from University College, London.

Dr. James Goldgeier is a Professor of International Relations and served as Dean of the School of International Service at American University from 2011-17. He is also a Robert Bosch Senior Visiting Fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. He was a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations from 2017-19 and in 2018-19, he held the inaugural Library of Congress Chair in U.S.-Russia Relations at the John W. Kluge Center. Previously, he was a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University. He also taught at Cornell University, and has held a number of public policy appointments, including Director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council Staff, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Henry A. Kissinger Chair at the Library of Congress, and Edward Teller National Fellow at the Hoover Institution. In addition, he has held appointments or fellowships at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Brookings Institution, and the Center for International Security and Cooperation. From 2001-2005, he directed George Washington University’s Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies. He has authored or co-authored four books including: America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11 (co-authored with Derek Chollet); Power and Purpose: U.S. Policy toward Russia after the Cold War (co-authored with Michael McFaul); and Not Whether But When: The U.S. Decision to Enlarge NATO. He is the recipient of the Edgar S. Furniss book award in national and international security and co-recipient of the Georgetown University Lepgold Book Prize in international relations. Professor Goldgeier’s areas of expertise include contemporary international relations, American foreign policy, U.S.-Russia relations, the European Union, transatlantic security and NATO.