About the center

The mission of Brookings’s Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE) is to offer independent research and recommendations for policymakers, foster high-level dialogue on developments in Europe and global challenges that affect trans-Atlantic relations, and convene roundtables, workshops, and public forums on policy-relevant issues.

CUSE’s research program focuses on:

  • the implications of the war in Ukraine for Europe, the United States, and their relationships with third powers;
  • Russia and its relations with the West;
  • bilateral relations between the United States and key European states, including France, Germany, and Turkey; and
  • transnational developments within and across the United States and Europe, including China’s increasing role in Europe, institutional and democratic crises, and the role of technology in the trans-Atlantic relationship.

CUSE scholars produce books, research papers, and commentaries for Brookings and other outlets. Together with the Strobe Talbott Center on Security, Strategy, and Technology, CUSE is currently co-producing a paper series on the implications of the war in Ukraine.

CUSE convenes public and private events throughout the year in conjunction with a range of European and U.S. partners, including the annual Raymond Aron Lecture, featuring a leading French scholar, the annual Justice Stephen Breyer Lecture on International Law, the Hewett Forum on Post-Soviet Affairs, a working group on the Russia-Ukraine War, and a high-level, biannual dialogue for leading analysts and government officials to inform policy decisions and strengthen trans-Atlantic relations.

Clara Marina O’Donnell Fellowship

CUSE supports the Clara Marina O’Donnell Fellowship, an opportunity for an early-career researcher with an interest in foreign, security, and defense policy to spend six months working at the Centre for European Reform (CER) in London, with a short residency at Brookings. The fellowship honors O’Donnell, a Brookings and CER scholar who passed away in 2014 at the age of 30.

The 10th and current Clara Marina O’Donnell fellow is Christina Keßler.

CER is now accepting applications for the 2024-25 fellowship, beginning in October 2024. The application is due April 5.