Germany's foreign and security policy is in a phase of fundamental reorientation. Since the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the latest, it has become clear that old certainties and security policy routines are reaching their limits. Between European expectations, transatlantic ties and new global power constellations, Germany must redefine its role. In his book Black Tuesday, published in March, Christoph von Marschall creates a striking future scenario: a Russian attack on Lithuania in 2028 forces Germany to intervene militarily - and shows the limits of the strategic ability of politics and society to act. This thought experiment serves as a starting point for an analysis of German and European foreign and security policy in times of increasing uncertainty

How can Germany remain more independent in terms of security policy and at the same time remain embedded in the transatlantic alliance? What lessons can be learned from the current global challenges for a sustainable foreign policy? And what political, economic and social conditions are needed to actually assume international responsibility?

We will discuss these and other questions with

Dr. Christoph von Marschall, Diplomatic Correspondent for the Editor-in-Chief of the Berliner Tagesspiegel and a regular guest on TV discussion panels such as the ARD Press Club and the Phoenix Roundtable. He also comments on WDR and is deputy chairman of the Berliner Presse Club e.V. as well as author of several books. After studying Eastern European history, ancient history, political science and geography in Freiburg, Mainz and Krakow and completing his doctorate, he reported from Hungary for the Süddeutsche Zeitung in 1989/90. In 1991, he moved to the Tagesspiegel, where he headed the opinion page from 1995 to 2005. From 2005 to 2013, he was the US correspondent and, since Barack Obama took office in 2009, the only German newspaper correspondent in the White House Press Corps. In 2016, he reported from the USA again, this time on the election campaign that led to Donald Trump's first election victory. In 2017/18, he lived in Washington again as the first Helmut Schmidt Fellow of the Zeit-Stiftung and the German Marshall Fund, had access to Donald Trump's White House and published Wir verstehen die Welt nicht mehr. Germany's alienation from its friends. His most recent book Der schwarze Dienstag. Why war with Russia is imminent and how the German government can prevent it was written in 2024 as a Global Europe Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center. He has received numerous awards for his work as a journalist.

and Cosima Gill, journalist with a focus on international politics and security policy. She hosted the podcast "Women in War" on radioeins (rbb), in which she shed light on the role of women in conflict zones. Gill holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of Geneva and a Master's degree in South Asia and Security Studies from King's College London.

Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Please reserve only as many places as you need.

Sponsored by: The State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia