Ukraine, the West, and the world: Breaking point or transformational moment?

Russia’s unabated aggression against Ukraine, China’s assertiveness, and extremist challengers in upcoming elections in the United States and Europe are forcing governments to question the future of the trans-Atlantic relationship. What interest does America have in a Europe at peace? And what should Europeans do to help Ukraine win said peace, manage China, and keep NATO and the European Union together? How do Western democracies balance existential threats, such as climate change and creeping authoritarianism, with the needs of domestic policy? And what can they do to shape a global order that maximizes peace and security for all?

In a season-opening event on September 15, the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution hosted a three-part conference to address these issues. The conference opened with a conversation between Oxford historian Timothy Garton Ash, author of the recent book “Homelands: A Personal History of Europe,” and Brookings Senior Fellow Fiona Hill, moderated by The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser, about lessons of the post-Berlin Wall period. Their conversation was followed by a discussion about the ramifications of the Russia-Ukraine war and the sharpening U.S.-China rivalry for the Euro-Atlantic security order. The event closed with a panel on the resilience of democracies in the face of transformative global disruptions and contested Western hegemony.

Viewers submitted questions via Twitter using #USEurope by emailing [email protected]

Registration is required to attend this event in person. Same-day registrants and walk-ins will not be permitted.