The American Council on Germany, in cooperation with 1014 Deutschland e.V. and various American Centers in Germany, will host a speaking tour for former U.S. diplomat Robin Quinville. In five cities, she will engage with local audiences and experts to explore the current state and future of German-American relations amid shifting global dynamics. These events will highlight both the challenges and opportunities facing the transatlantic community today. Each stop will feature a unique discussion – tailored to each community – addressing key themes such as geopolitical change, democratic resilience, and the evolving role of transatlantic cooperation in a complex global order.
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For 80 years, the transatlantic alliance has served as the backbone of a rules-based international order. Today, that liberal order is eroding – and the United States is increasingly signaling a move away from the multilateral commitments and institutional leadership that once defined its global role. With Washington adopting a more interest-driven, transactional posture, Europe faces a strategic moment of truth. What does trans-Atlantic cooperation look like when the old assumptions no longer hold? Can Europe become a more autonomous partner – and what kind of global governance model might replace the framework that is now fading?
Join us in Berlin April 27 for an event bringing together leading foreign policy experts from both sides of the Atlantic to explore these questions and chart possible paths forward for the transatlantic partnership: Robin Quinville, former Director of the Wilson Center’s Global Europe Program and former Charge d ’Affaires at the U.S. Mission to Germany; and Claudia Major, Senior Vice President, Transatlantic Security at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
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Robin Quinville is the former Director of the Wilson Center’s Global Europe Program. She spent more than 30 years as a U.S. diplomat, having served primarily in Europe – including postings to two multilateral organizations (the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and NATO) and bilateral postings to Cyprus, Bosnia, Greece, the United Kingdom, and Germany. She also spent a year in Baghdad, Iraq. In Washington, she directed the Office of Western European Affairs at the Department of State and served as a Wilson Center State Department Fellow for a year. Her last foreign posting was as the Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany.
Ms. Quinville holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Smith College. She is widely recognized for her expertise in European affairs, alliance politics, and transatlantic cooperation.
Dr. Claudia Major is GMF’s senior vice president overseeing the organization’s transatlantic security and defense work, and an executive team member. Previously, Dr. Major was the director of the International Security Division at the German think tank Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) in Berlin.
Her research, advisory work, and publications focus on German, European and transatlantic security and defense policy, NATO, deterrence and nuclear (dis)order, defense industry, and the Franco-German relationship. Currently, she is particularly focused on the repercussions of Russia’s war against Ukraine for Europe, the transatlantic relationship, and the nuclear order; options to end the war in Ukraine; and ways to ensure the long-term security of Europe and Ukraine.
Dr. Major previously held positions at the Center for Security Studies at the ETH Zurich, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), the EU Institute for Security Studies (Paris), the NATO Department of the German Foreign Office, and Sciences Po Paris. She was and is a member of various committees, including the Advisory Board for Civilian Crisis Prevention of the German Federal Foreign Office (2010-2024) and the Advisory Board of the Federal Ministry of Defense on “leadership development and civic education” (lnnere Führung) (since 2023). She holds a diploma from the Free University of Berlin and Sciences Po Paris and a PhD from the University of Birmingham (UK).