Building Bridges: The 26th Manfred Wörner Seminar
By Ann-Kristin Otto

"Where is the Wall?" someone asked while driving past the Brandenburg Gate, just like many tourists that visit Berlin for the first time. As the Bundeswehr bus carrying the thirty participants of this year's Manfred Wörner Seminar headed towards the Reichstag, the German participants explained that the thin line of brick stones embedded in the street marked where the wall had once divided East and West during the Cold War. Unimpressed and maybe somewhat disappointed, the group continued on its way to meet with Hans-Ulrich Klose, long-standing SPD member of the German Bundestag and for many Germany's most distinguished and outspoken foreign policy expert. What followed was a tour de force over foreign and security challenges that left many in the group deeply impressed and which was rewarded with standing ovations from a group that had been spoiled with high-level, top-notch speakers for six consecutive days. Klose's speech even provoked one of the U.S. participants to joyfully proclaim "I would vote for him as president if I only could." It became clear what Klose had achieved in his ninety-minute talk, shedding light on what had become the most controversial debate within the group: how to deal with Russia. Without offering simple explanations or policy solutions, the SPD member laid out why U.S. and European perceptions towards Russia were indeed so divergent and why it was important to recognize these differences. U.S. and European diverging perceptions of Russia as a partner are the result of not only geographic location, trade, and dependency on energy resources; it is just as much the impetus of German and largely European foreign policy that it is vital to formulate policy with the Russians rather than against them. Many in Washington call this appeasement and aim for a much tougher stance on Russia. Europeans and Americans are likely to face more problems rather than less in this policy arena after the November 2008 elections. This certainly holds true if John McCain, who has already taken a very clear position on how he will deal with Russia, were to be elected president. Both Obama and Clinton have not been specific on their strategies towards Russia, but have made clear that they will not accept Russia's democratic vacuum combined with its great power aspirations.

The American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS), the only think tank in Washington, DC that focuses primarily on the German-American relationship, deals with these challenges and opportunities on a day to day basis. In its twenty-fifth year, the Institute's work focuses on the core belief that a close partnership between Germany and the United States is crucial to European and transatlantic relations. It is my work here at the Institute that encouraged me to apply for the Manfred Wörner Seminar. While working on foreign and security issues between the United States and Germany every day, one realizes how much potential there is for fruitful cooperation as well as how many traps for misunderstanding lie within these issues. The next two years will be marked by changing political environments and growing global needs for leadership and problem solvers. While both political systems remain in limbo for some time to come, institutions like AICGS and seminars like the Manfred Wörner Seminar foster the exchange on policy issues and work on bringing the two countries closer towards a common understanding.

A seminar on German-American understanding is not only about reaching consensus and finding common lines for policy challenges, it is just as much about understanding differences and making disagreements viable and manageable.

The Manfred Wörner Seminar
The Manfred Wörner Seminar, organized by the German Ministry of Defense and The German Marshall Fund of the United States, annually gathers a select group of young professionals from both sides of the Atlantic to foster German-American understanding. It is named after the former German Defense Minister Manfred Wörner who also served as NATO Secretary General from 1988 to 1994. The Seminar brings together thirty young German and American leaders to exchange views and debate challenges for security cooperation in the transatlantic arena. Now in its twenty-sixth year, the seminar offers its participants a vibrant alumni network of more than 700 people on both sides of the Atlantic with backgrounds in politics, industry, business, academia, and the media. The program's balanced approach between lectures and leisure time provides a unique opportunity for its participants to engage in debates, socialize, get to know each other, foster friendships and create transatlantic bridges.

During the ten-day program in Bonn, Brussels, and Berlin participants have the opportunity to meet with high-level speakers in all of the key decision-making bodies for transatlantic security cooperation. The group gained a comprehensive picture of NATO and its activities on a visit to facilities such as the E-3A component in Geilenkirchen, Germany, where NATO's AWACS missions are coordinated, the Joint Forces Command in Brunssum, Netherlands, where the ISAF's mission is militarily coordinated, and NATO Headquarters in Brussels. A visit to the EU Commission and the EU Parliament rounded out the Brussels experience and engaged the group in discussions on the difficult NATO-EU relationship as well as internal EU debates on a common approach to foreign and security policy. In Berlin, participants visited the Federal Foreign Office, the Bundestag, the Chancellery, and the Ministry of Defense, allowing both Germans and Americans to gain a broad overview of the German security landscape and in-depth insights into Germany's key political institutions. The group enjoyed an intense exchange and lunch with General Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Chief of Staff, and other representatives during a visit to the German Ministry of Defense. The General outlined the future role of the Bundeswehr and the context in which it operates as well as challenges for multinational operations in countries like Afghanistan. It was an optimistic, if not patient, outlook on the road ahead for German-American security cooperation.

Reaching Consensus, Recognizing Differences
The ten-day seminar concluded with a wrap-up session where three key findings were presented: a stronger EU is in NATO's interest; energy security is the primary challenge the alliance is facing; and Germany needs to live up to its responsibilities in the transatlantic alliance as a reliable and strong partner without caveats when it comes to military engagement. What might seem like a hollow assessment of a complex situation was indeed the result of ten days of intense debates and presentations. Participants were able to achieve consensus on these three issues, while recognizing disagreements over many other contentious issues.

Too often we take transatlantic ties for granted and are then struck by disagreements on issues. Though the bridges built by institutions such as the Manfred Wörner Seminar will not necessarily lead to a common path, they create channels for open communication, create mutual understanding, and establish contacts for ongoing discussion on emerging issues and persisting differences. Despite our long-lasting friendship and interwoven ties, an assessment of common challenges and how to confront them is not a given. The German-American partnership depends on constant exchange, open dialogue, and a vivid transatlantic network.

If we agree with those who claim that in the twenty-first century traditional alliances will decrease in importance and relationships will become more selective and situational, this need to constantly communicate is ever more pressing. Exchanges like the German-American seminar will only gain in importance. The more exchanges we have between young leaders, the more we discuss the challenges we mutually face, the more we agree to disagree, the better and more able we will be to achieve a common understanding of the options and obstacles our relations face.

If we disagree with those who see the transatlantic community declining in importance and believe that the alliance is in the process of successfully redefining itself and expanding its belief-system and security umbrella, then we need these forums to debate the direction in which transatlantic relations should be headed.

Transatlantic Relations Beyond 2008
It has become cliché to point out that our norms and values unite us, but does that make the argument less valid? Some would claim that in this new world (dis)order the concept of the West itself is outdated. Some would even go as far as to say that our common values are a disillusion and only a blurry memory of the past and that our disagreements over the last years have shown a remarkable divergence of our belief-systems. But even if we agree with these assessments, we cannot escape the need for cooperation. Transatlantic ties - in particular economic ties - are as strong as ever and the alliance finds itself engaged in a joint war in Afghanistan under NATO's mutual solidarity clause, Article V. No matter from which angle we approach this special relationship, cooperation in the future remains vital to our respective strategic cultures.

The group could not have had a more interesting time for these debates than May 2008 in Germany. It took place only a month after the NATO Bucharest summit, which was wrongfully portrayed as a failure in large parts of the media, but which indeed led to significant strategic agreements (e.g. on missile defense, enlargement of NATO (though not as quickly as some members wanted), stabilization of the Western Balkans, and the creation of a common strategic vision for Afghanistan). The same week that participants visited NATO's E-3A component in Geilenkirchen (NATO's only standing, operational flying unit for AWACS with integrated, multinational aircrews), the German Constitutional Court ruled that Germany's participation in the AWACS mission in Turkey during the Iraq War in 2003 was unconstitutional. The day before, at the NATO Headquarters meeting with the German Ambassador to NATO and representatives from the General Secretariat and the U.S. representation to NATO, the CDU/CSU published it's new security strategy for Germany, proposing significant changes in the security structure of the country.

With elections coming up in both countries in 2008 and 2009, the transatlantic relationship is facing new challenges and opportunities. The Manfred Wörner Seminar reassesses and reexamines the rationale of this relationship, especially in the security policy arena. AICGS will be actively advising leadership in both countries on how to respond to changing political situations and developing common ground for the major challenges to come. Russia, Iran and its nuclear ambitions, a common policy on climate change and managing consequences of the global food crisis will be on top of the list. Security challenges in Afghanistan, Iraq and the continuing threats posed by international terrorism will remain a major challenge for at least the next decade. It is important that we define our expectations towards each other and engage in open discussion. Institutions like AICGS and participants of the Manfred Wörner seminar serve as multipliers for this message.

As the participants returned to their respective offices at the State Department, think tanks, the German Bundestag, EU Parliament or their desk at universities or news magazines, they had experienced differences and identified common goals. They had seen interests approaching and parting on different issues. But they were left with emails and phone numbers, faces and stories, friends, and with bridges that will be crossed many times.

Click on each picture for a larger version.

Ann-Kristin Otto is Program Coordinator of the Public Affairs Program at AICGS and attended the Manfred Wörner Seminar in May of 2008.

This essay appeared in the May 30, 2008, AICGS Advisor.