Conflicts on Europe’s doorstep and disruptive technologies are colliding with a faltering international order. An autocratic and aggressive Russia is endangering freedom and security in Europe. Competition and rivalry with China are threatening Europe’s prosperity. Tensions with the United States are forcing European leaders to chart a new course. Against this backdrop, what role can diplomacy play in securing peace, prosperity, and freedom?
Join the American Council on Germany for a virtual discussion with Ambassador Rolf Nikel, who helped shape Germany’s foreign and security policy over 40 years as a diplomat and recently published Der schmale Grat: Die Kunst der Diplomatie in Zeiten des Umbruchs about the art of diplomacy in uncertain times.
Ambassador Rolf Nikel has served as the Vice President of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) since September 2020. Before joining DGAP, he spent more than 40 years working for the German Foreign Office. From July 2014 until the end of June 2020, he was Germany’s Ambassador to Poland. From 2011 to 2014, he was the Federal Government Commissioner for Disarmament and Arms Control. Prior to that, he served in the Federal Chancellery – as Deputy Head of its Foreign and Security Policy Division (2006 to 2011) and Head of its United Nations and Global Issues Group (2005 to 2006).
During his diplomatic career, Amb. Nikel also worked at German embassies in Moscow, Nairobi, Paris, and Washington, DC, where he headed the political departments. He studied Political Science, Economics, and International Law in Frankfurt; Durham, North Carolina; and Paris. He was also a fellow at Harvard University.
