Foreign & Security Policy

As the relationship with the U.S. government is fundamentally shifting, Germany faces a critical choice between deepening transatlantic defense procurement or seizing the moment to build out Europe's defense-tech ecosystem.

Our new study maps how U.S.–German exchange programs have evolved from 2020–2025, revealing disrupted funding, shifting political pressures, innovative new models, and urgent recommendations to strengthen democratic ties across the Atlantic.

Europe must urgently rethink defense, handling five key tasks in case the US significantly reduces its European military footprint. European leaders can make the choices necessary to fill the gaps by following this blueprint.

Europe’s defence map is being redrawn. Our new Böll EU Brief tracks over 160 defence partnerships signed since 2014 among EU countries, the UK and Ukraine – most of them after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Bilateralism boosts trust, interoperability and procurement speed, but also risks duplication and fragmentation. To turn this patchwork into strategy, the EU and NATO should map and integrate these deals into joint planning, strengthen the European Defence Agency’s role, and use bilaterals to offset declining US support.  

The Trump administration has prioritized strategic and economic ties with Saudi Arabia over human rights concerns, neglecting issues like travel bans on US citizens and repression of dissent.

The incoming German government will have to navigate challenges that are existential to Germany, Europe. This publication applies a feminist perspective to the far-reaching impact of the second Trump administration on global peace and security.

The 2024 re-election of Donald Trump as US president, and the realignment of US security strategy that is expected to follow fundamentally changes Europe’s security outlook. The EU cannot become Europe’s security provider, but it can, through its defence industrial policy, support the funding and organization of the rearmament effort.

In a new policy brief, Haydn Welch, Sheridan Cole, and Seth Binder examine the evolution of US-Saudi relations during Biden’s term, analyzing key inflection points and strategic considerations that shaped policy.

The 2024 U.S. elections will be closely watched around the world, especially in Europe. The United States is the European Union’s most important partner, guaranteeing Europe’s security through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A potential shift toward a less internationalist and more isolationist U.S. foreign policy would have profound implications for the continent.

As Turkey gears up for elections on May 14, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his party are expected to use several tactics to undermine the vote and to engineer a win. 

Amid Turkey's economic crisis, Erdoğan’s ability to continue patronage and the opposition's ability to sway those voters will shape the outcome of the upcoming elections.

How can the EU be more effective in its support of democracy, human rights, and civil liberties in Turkey?

While the United States and Europe may never have warm relations with Turkey, a clear and functional relationship, built around a mutually shared understanding of the other sides’ red lines could make cooperation on issues easier to pursue.

The U.S. and EU should be consistent  in their efforts to protect shrinking democratic spaces and multilateral principles.

Turkey presents a powerful case where idealism and pragmatism meet. Pushing for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law not only serves Western ideals but also Western interests.

This publication analyzes the policies of the United States, and the European Union, and Turkey in the region and their impact on the relationship between Ankara, Washington, and Brussels.

This volume brings together the winning essays of the 1325andBeyond competition, an impressive group of women and men from around the globe.