Lessons from History: Europe and the fall of the Berlin Wall - Hoofdinhoud
datum | 13 november 2019 - 12:30 |
---|---|
aanwezigen | (Radosław) Sikorski i e.a. |
organisatie | Friends of Europe |
About
In an era where our security environment seems increasingly and ever-more rapidly subject to complex, global and interconnected challenges, it is important to regularly ‘go back to basics’: take a step back and understand history’s profound effects on our world, allowing us to better prepare for the future. Friends of Europe will look back at previous efforts in history to make peace and the lessons we can draw from those experiences to solve today’s conflicts.
With 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the end of the Cold War, this event will explore the outcomes of this peaceful movement and its successes and failures in the course of German and European (re-)unification. In the context of today’s multi-faceted challenges within Europe and beyond, we aim to draw conclusions and lessons from the events around the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Related content:
Our events include photos, audio and video recording that we might use for promotional purposes. By registering, you give your permission to use your image. Should you have any questions, please contact us.
Schedule
12.30 13.00
Registration and welcome coffee
13.00 14.00
Lessons from History: Europe and the fall of the Berlin Wall Expand Lessons from History: Europe and the fall of the Berlin Wall
Our third Lessons from History event will explore lessons from the fall of the Berlin Wall and the international response. Thirty years ago, in fall 1989, thousands of East Germans crossed peacefully into the West as border guards stood down, collapsing a 44-year rift through the heart of Europe. This unexpected event turbo-charged the end of the Cold War and shifted the European balance of power. The fall of the Berlin Wall was triggered by a wave of peaceful movements across the Eastern bloc and followed a change in approach by Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his reform agenda. From the dismantling of Hungary’s border with Austria to the victory of Solidarity in Poland to the Baltic Way, the fall of the Berlin Wall was the culmination of a pan-European social movement. Yet ultimately disillusionment followed initial euphoria - hopes for a united Europe and a new era of engagement with Russia have only partially been realised. Former ‘Soviet bloc’ countries were integrated into the EU and the transatlantic alliance, however economic and political divides persisted between Eastern and Western Europe. With a focus on the direct and indirect outcomes of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, and reflecting on international responses, we aim to share lessons learned with the audience.
-
-How should we remember the events of 1989 today? As an occasion of joy and even euphoria as it was thirty years ago? Was it possible then to construct a more united and peaceful Europe than the one we live in today?
-
-Or should we remember the fall of the Berlin Wall as a difficult birth to a new Germany and a new Europe, even if no longer divided by walls, divided by mentalities?
-
-How did the fall of the Berlin Wall impact the creation of a new post-Cold War world order? What is left from the hopes and ambitions of this aspirational era?
-
-What lessons can be learned by social movements today from the peaceful protests in the run-up to November 1989?
Speakers
Stefanie Babst
Head of Strategic Analysis Capability and Emerging Security Challenges Division (ESCD) at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Jackson Janes
Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund and President Emeritus of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University
Radosław Sikorski MEP
Member of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence and acting Chair of the Delegation for relations with the United States
Moderator
Jamie Shea
Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe and former deputy assistant secretary-general at NATO
14.00
End of debate
Speakers
Stefanie Babst
Head of Strategic Analysis Capability and Emerging Security Challenges Division (ESCD) at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Show more information on Stefanie Babst
Stefanie Babst leads a team that advises the two most senior leaders of the transatlantic Alliance - the NATO Secretary-General and the Chairman of the Military Committee - on strategic and global security challenges. In this capacity, she is responsible for preparing comprehensive assessments on potential upcoming crisis situations and their implications for NATO. A highly-regarded expert on international security policy, she also previously served as NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Public Diplomacy.
Jackson Janes
Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund and President Emeritus of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University
Show more information on Jackson Janes
Jackson Janes is a renowned American academic with deep expertise of German-American relations and transatlantic affairs. He has lectured and published extensively on these issues, regularly appearing in European and American news outlets. Janes now works with the German Marshall Fund and the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He previously headed the German-American Institute in Tübingen, the European office of the German Marshall Fund in Bonn and the International Association for the Study of German Politics. Janes has been recognised for his work with the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit, Germany’s highest civilian award.
Radosław Sikorski MEP
Member of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence and acting Chair of the Delegation for relations with the United States
Show more information on Radosław Sikorski MEP
Radosław (Radek) Sikorski is a prominent Polish politician and journalist, currently serving as Chairman of the Delegation for relations with the United States. Sikorski was Poland’s Minister of Defence (2005-2007), Foreign Minister (2007-2014) and Speaker of Parliament (2014-2015). With Carl Bildt, he launched the EU’s Eastern Partnership and in 2014 led the EU mission to Kyiv to find a diplomatic solution and end violence on the Maidan. Named by Foreign Policy as one of 100 global intellectuals “for speaking the truth even when it’s not diplomatic”, Sikorski is the author of several books and is a Senior Fellow at the Center for European Studies at Harvard.
Jamie Shea
Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe and former deputy assistant secretary-general at NATO
Show more information on Jamie Shea
Retiring from NATO in September 2018 after 38 years at the organisation, Jamie Shea has occupied a number of senior positions at NATO across a wide range of areas, including external relations, press and media, and policy planning. As NATO’s spokesperson, he was the face of the Alliance during the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts. He later worked as the Director of Policy Planning in the private office of former Secretary General Rasmussen during the preparation of NATO’s 2010 Strategic Concept. Shea is also a regular lecturer and conference speaker on NATO and European security affairs.