Will the Transatlantic Relationship Survive? Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates Live from the German Marshall Fund's Brussels Forum, June 28

Rising populism and inequality, coupled with surprising election outcomes in the United States and Europe, have put the transatlantic relationship - a hallmark of the liberal international order for decades – at risk. President Trump's U.K. trip this month may have destabilized relations even further. Is the relationship between the U.S. and Europe beyond repair? On Friday, June 28, the "fantastic" (New Yorker) nonpartisan debate series Intelligence Squared U.S. returns for its second year at the German Marshall Fund's Brussels Forum to debate the motion "The Transatlantic Relationship Has Been Irreparably Damaged." As with all their debates, it will live stream globally and air as a syndicated public radio show, podcast, and TV program.

Debating that the transatlantic relationship cannot be repaired are University of Rome professor Federiga Bindi, who has advised four different Italian governments and the European Commission, and Brookings Senior Fellow Constanze Stelzenmüller, an expert on transatlantic relations and the E.U.'s foreign, security, and defense policy. Debating against them, arguing that it could yet be salvaged, are University of Chicago professor and New York Times best-selling author John Mearsheimer and University of Toronto professor Carla Norrlof, who researches international cooperation with a special focus on great powers, and in particular, U.S. hegemony.

The debate will stream live online at 5:45 PM Brussels time (11:45 AM ET, timing subject to change), then air soon after as part of the syndicated public radio show and podcast "Intelligence Squared U.S." On June 28, online viewers can tune in at IQ2US's website:https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org

This debate continues a robust run of international-relations debates Intelligence Squared U.S. has held in the last year, with experts like Ian Bremmer, Kori Schake, and Yascha Mounk debating topics from North Korea nuclear negotiations to whether the Russia threat is overblown. View their 12-year archive of international-relations debates at https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/topics/world

WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates "The Transatlantic Relationship Has Been Irreparably Damaged"

WHEN: Friday, June 28, 2019 / 5:45 PM CET (11:45 AM ET) (time subject to change)

WHERE: Live-streaming at https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org

Debating For the Motion:

* Federiga Bindi: Professor, University of Rome Tor Vergata 

Federiga Bindi is a professor of political science and the Jean Monnet chair at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. She is also a nonresident scholar in the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she works on European politics and transatlantic relations, and a senior fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations. Bindi has advised four different Italian governments and several international organizations, including the European Commission, and is an author and editor, most recently of the 2019 book, “Europe and America: The End of the Transatlantic Relationship?”

* Constanze Stelzenmüller: Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution 

Constanze Stelzenmüller is the inaugural Robert Bosch senior fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. Prior to joining Brookings, she was a senior transatlantic fellow and Berlin office director with the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Her areas of expertise include, among others, transatlantic relations, German foreign policy, and the European Union’s foreign, security, and defense policy. Stelzenmüller was a writer and editor at the German weekly Die Zeit from 1994 to 2005, and her essays and articles have appeared in a wide range of publications, including Foreign Affairs and the Financial Times.

Debating Against the Motion:

* John J. Mearsheimer: American Political Scientist & Professor, University of Chicago 

John J. Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison distinguished service professor of political science at the University of Chicago and one of the nation’s most influential political scientists. A New York Times best-selling author, he has written six books about security issues and international politics, including “The Tragedy of Great Power Politics,” “Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics,” and most recently, “The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities.” Mearsheimer has won several teaching awards and his work is frequently taught to, and read by, twenty-first century students of political science.

* Carla Norrlof: Professor, University of Toronto 

Carla Norrlof is an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto, where she researches international cooperation with a special focus on great powers, and in particular, U.S. hegemony. She is the author of “America’s Global Advantage: US Hegemony and International Cooperation,” and her works on cooperation, hegemony, and the international political economy of trade, investment, and conflict have been published widely, including in the Cambridge University Press, MIT Press, and Oxford University Press. A Swedish national, born in Addis Ababa, Norrlof has lived in Stockholm, Gaborone, New York, Paris, Geneva and Toronto.

About Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates (IQ2US)

A non-partisan, non-profit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S. was founded in 2006 to address a fundamental problem in America: the extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. Their mission is to restore critical thinking, facts, reason, and civility to American public discourse. The award-winning debate series reaches over 30 million American households through multi-platform distribution, including radio, television, live streaming, podcasts, interactive digital content, and on-demand apps on Roku and Apple TV. With over 140 debates and counting, Intelligence Squared U.S. has encouraged the public to "think twice" on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008. 

About the German Marshall Fund of the United States:

The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is the leading organization dedicated to deepening transatlantic ties by shaping the policy conversation, strengthening civil society, and developing leaders. Headquartered in Washington, DC, GMF’s office network includes Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Warsaw, Ankara, Belgrade, and Bucharest. GMF was established in 1972 with a gift from Germany to thank Americans for Marshall Plan assistance.

GMF champions human rights, democracy, and rule of law – the values that make the transatlantic relationship a vital force for global good. It nurtures relationships between Europe and America, connecting people and ideas on both sides of the Atlantic that are shaping the future. We know that Europe and America working together is essential for a free, prosperous, and secure world.

About GMF’s Brussels Forum: 

Brussels Forum is the German Marshall Fund’s annual, marquee summit bringing together the most influential North American and European political, corporate, and intellectual leaders to address consequential challenges currently facing the transatlantic community. Leaders on both sides of the Atlantic are being tested by enduring and emerging challenges—from new security threats and the vast implications of technology, to polarized politics, economic insecurity, and climate change. By bringing together the preeminent thinkers and doers in the field, GMF's Brussels Forum helps shape a new transatlantic agenda that can adapt to changing global realities and new threats. 

Now in its 14^th year, Brussels Forum participants include heads of state, senior officials from the European Union institutions and the member states, U.S. cabinet officials, U.S. congressional representatives, parliamentarians, academics, and journalists.