Event: U.S.-Central Europe Strategy Forum - Sep 20-21

Center for European Policy Analysis' (CEPA) 
U.S.-Central Europe Strategy Forum 2012
September 20-21, 2012
Washington, DC

What is America’s role in Central and Eastern Europe? Has the goal of consolidating rule of law and democracy in a Europe “Whole, Free and at Peace” been achieved, or do the ghosts of Central Europe’s illiberal past threaten to make a comeback? These and other strategic questions will be front and center at CEPA’s U.S.-Central Europe Strategy Forum.

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Panel I: The U.S. Pivot to Asia: What Impact for Central and Eastern Europe?

The 2012 Defense Guidance signaled a rebalancing of American strategic attention away from Europe and toward the Asia-Pacific region. In Central Europe, the shift of U.S. priorities is seen by many longstanding allies as heralding a broader downscaling of the U.S. presence — and interest — in their own neighborhood. In security terms, what impact is the partial withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Europe likely to have, particularly for security conscious allies like Poland and the Baltic States? In broader political terms, will America’s perceived diplomatic detachment make it harder to sustain the Western democracy agenda in the post-Soviet space (and Central Europe itself)? Where should Central and Eastern Europe ultimately fit in Washington’s new, Asia-focused, grand strategy?

• Moderator: Ian Brzezinski, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
• Bartosz Cichocki, Head of International Analysis Division, National Security Bureau of the Republic of Poland
• Elbridge Colby, Principal Analyst, Center for Naval Analyses
• Jan Havránek, Deputy Director for Defense Policy, Czech Ministry of Defense
• Kori Schake, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution; Associate Professor of International Studies, U.S. Military Academy

View the full agenda.