In a year of decisive elections, none is more so for the fate of European security than the United States presidential elections on November 5. To talk about the future of the transatlantic relationship, FLAD will host on September 23, at 6:30 pm, Ian Lesser, distinguished fellow and advisor to the President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, for the conference ‘Transatlantic Relations in a Year of Decision’.

Two candidates, with two opposite visions on the future of the international order and on the relationship with America’s traditional allies. If Vice President Kamala Harris sees the United States as a stronger country because of its relationship with its allies, in the transactional vision of former President Donald Trump, traditional alliances are to be distrusted, and international institutions an obstacle to recover an idea of greatness of American, be it real or perceived.

Regardless of the outcome, Europe will have to deal with new leadership – in the Presidency, in Congress, and in key security and foreign policy positions – and a more polarized and volatile America. To understand these challenges, FLAD invited Ian Lesser, Distinguished Fellow and Advisor to the President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, leader of the Brussels delegation of the GMF and the GMF South program, a comprehensive program dedicated to the research and analysis of developments in southern Europe, Turkey and the Mediterranean.

This is the first session of a cycle of conferences dedicated to the U.S. presidential elections that FLAD will promote in the coming months with U.S. experts, on topics relevant to the domestic and foreign policy of the US, and to the Euro-Atlantic community, with the aim of promoting the debate on current American politics and the implications of this election inside and outside the U.S.

With these sessions, we aim to contribute to a greater knowledge of the American political and electoral system, at a time when European countries, and certainly Portugal, devote so much attention to the American political reality.

This series is an opportunity for researchers, students, policy makers, diplomats, media, analysts and the general public to have closer contact with leading international authors and experts in the field.

The session with Ian Lesser will take place on September 23, at 6:30 pm, in the FLAD Auditorium in Lisbon. Admission is free, upon confirmation of attendance through this link.