- Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference
- Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, Dean of the Mercator Fellowship on International Affairs
The debate will be followed by a reception.
About
Due to a constitutional mandate that explicitly calls for and protects the autonomy of federal ministers, German foreign policy is almost exclusively left in the hands of the foreign minister and the Federal Foreign Office. However, in today’s complex world where threats lurch between domestic and foreign policies, some across Berlin’s national security community feel that the system has become inadequate or insufficient and lacks the agility to craft innovative and swift policy responses across multiple agencies. One proposal that continues to be debated is the creation of a German National Security Council.
Please join us for a public debate on that idea between two of Germany's top diplomats. Does Germany need an update of its aging national security structures? Is it time for a German National Security Council? How might a National Security Council change German foreign policy? What obstacles exist? Are there any lessons from other countries?
Registration for this event is closed.
Richard von Weiszäcker Fellow Julianne Smith moderated a debate with Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference and Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, Dean of the Mercator Fellowship on International Affairs, on whether Germany needs a National Security Council.
Julianne Smith, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy and former Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Joseph Biden.
Ambassador Ischinger presented his arguments why he believes it is time to create, or rather revive, the German National Security Council.
Ambassador Scharioth took up the opposing side highlighting how the current German national security structures have served their function.
The debate took place at the Berlin Representative Office of the Robert Bosch Stiftung.