In this video symposium, Dr. Tobias Bunde (Hertie School; Munich Security Conference), Professor Dr. Angela E. Stent (Brookings Institution, Georgetown University), and Dr. Aylin Matlé (DGAP) will discuss how Russia's war against Ukraine has changed the role of deterrence in Germany and Europe.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has brought questions of nuclear deterrence to the fore. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the possibility of nuclear escalation is back on the agenda and particularly stark against the backdrop of repeated threats by President Putin. While some commentators interpret NATO’s restraint regarding direct interference as proof of the reliability of nuclear deterrence, others doubt NATO’s credibility and believe its weakness has emboldened Russia’s aggressive behavior. Beyond the current war against Ukraine, we can expect that nuclear weapons and threats will play a more prominent role in future international crises, whether in North Korea, between India and Pakistan or in the Middle East. All of this raises the question: What does the changed security situation mean for us? How should we respond to these new conditions? And what role will nuclear deterrence play for Germany and Europe in the future?
This event is co-hosted by the Centre for International Security and Global Bridges.
Speakers
Dr. Tobias Bunde is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for International Security at the Hertie School. He also serves as Director of Research and Policy at the Munich Security Conference. His research focuses on foreign and security policies of liberal democracies.
Professor Dr. Angela E. Stent is Director Emerita of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies and Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She is also a Senior Fellow (non resident) at the Brookings Institution and co-chairs its Hewett Forum on Post-Soviet Affairs
Moderator
Dr. Aylin Matlé is a Research Fellow in DGAP’s Center for Security and Defense. Matlé studied political science at Zeppelin University (ZU) in Friedrichshafen and “war studies” at King’s College London. She earned her PhD from Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg with a dissertation on the impact of US engagement on NATO and the defense policies of European allies during Barack Obama’s presidency.
