The German Marshall Fund of the United States

08/31/2026

Last week, GMF was pleased to host Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Chair Emerita of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, for two roundtable discussions in Berlin.

Participants discussed how debates over economic security and the Middle East may shape Democratic foreign policy priorities and examined the domestic policy questions driving US politics this fall, as well as the enduring support for maintaining strong alliances.

Further conversations during her trip with GMF with political stakeholders and elected leaders from across the political spectrum also explored areas for bipartisan progress, migration policy, potential policy priorities of a new Congress, the Democratic vision for American leadership globally, and the key role for transatlantic partnerships in today's geopolitical landscape.

08/31/2026

In an interview with Maxim Kireev for DIE ZEIT, GMF’s Claudia Major talks about recent events after the suspected drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane in Leipzig. She discusses the ongoing debate about when a hybrid threat becomes an actual war. Following the incident, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to take a stronger position toward Russia.

According to Major, this fall represents a moment of European weakness for Putin, increasing the threat from Russia.

Read the full interview (in German) here:

Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz will nach dem Anschlag in Leipzig härter gegen Russland vorgehen. Wann endet eine hybride Bedrohung und wird zu einem echten Krieg?

08/28/2026

GMF's J.C. Lintzenich told the :

“Putin has a tolerance for extraordinary risk and is even potentially willing to escalate to compel de-escalation, but he is unlikely to roll the dice on actions that could threaten the Russian state."

🔗 Read here:

By sending his CIA chief, Trump is trying a new tack to tamp down Russian aggression

08/28/2026

🇨🇦🇪🇺 The US-Canada trade spat could soon cross the Atlantic. anything else instead of rerun?. GMF's Penny Naas argues the same coercive playbook could turn on Europe this fall, as alliance status offers no exemption.

🔗 Read here: https://bit.ly/4xuedZI

08/28/2026

Russia may be gearing up for another mass mobilization.

GMF's J.C. Lintzenich argues this isn't necessarily a sign of imminent war with NATO — but a wager on Ukraine, timed to a convergence of political calendars and competing crises that Putin may see as his moment to act.

🔗 Read the piece: https://bit.ly/4cgUUKL

08/27/2026

🇲🇩 As Moldova marks 35 years of independence with the first military parade in its history, GMF's Laurențiu Pleșca argues in the EU Observer that the move signals Moldova no longer believes ambiguity keeps it safe.

That signal deserves an answer from Europe — one it hasn't gotten yet.

🔗 Read here: https://bit.ly/4grJHbm

On Thursday (27 August), Moldova marks 35 years of independence, and for the first time in its history, the day will be marked with a military parade through Chișinău.That single fact says more about European security than any communiqué.

08/26/2026

🇩🇪 "It would be really bad for the EU if Germany, usually considered an anchor of stability for Europe, is facing such vulnerabilities and rhetoric."

GMF's Sudha David-Wilp spoke with TVP World about the consequences of a potential AfD win in the upcoming Saxony-Anhalt regional elections in Germany, and what it could mean for German foreign policy.

🔗 Watch here: https://bit.ly/4ivkuj1

Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany's far-right AfD party, has spark...

08/26/2026

🌊🗺️ Russia once treated the Black Sea and Mediterranean as one strategic space but that is now changing.

Ian Lesser, Özgür Ünlühisarcıklı, and Pelham Hardie on what Moscow's pivot in the region means for NATO and transatlantic security.

➡️ Read the full report: https://bit.ly/3RUjeLD

08/25/2026

🇮🇹 GMF's Beniamino Irdi told the Financial Times:

“The transactional nature of Trump is such that ideological affinity only goes so far. You have to actually be able to put something tangible on the table.”

🔗 Read the full article about Meloni's relationship with Trump and what its limits signal: https://bit.ly/4d38FNp

08/22/2026

🇺🇦 GMF's Olena Prokopenko told Reuters that ousted Ukrainian defense minister Fedorov, whose call for wartime elections has backfired, had been poised to cast himself as "a statesman, a politician of a new generation" after the war, but miscalculated.

“With this statement, he pretty much played on Ukrainians’ most sensitive pain points."

🔗 Read here:

A host of obstacles would need to be overcome for Ukraine to hold wartime elections.