On October 6, 2016, the RBFAA held a regional event in Washington, D.C. entitled “What Now? New Perspectives on Brexit and Transatlantic Relations.” Moderated by Dr. Nancy Walker (Bosch IV), Director of the Program on U.S. Foreign Policy in a Global Era at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, the event featured commentary by Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller, Robert Bosch Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Dr. Stelzenmüller started off by detailing the next steps for Britain in the wake of the historic June vote and the very real economic, political, defense, and legal consequences the country faces. She then touched on Germany’s posture toward Britain in the upcoming negotiations and the view within the U.S. that Germany is now undisputedly “the prime among equals” within the European Union. Drs. Walker and Stelzenmüller discussed the challenges Chancellor Angela Merkel faces both domestically and internationally, and they fielded insightful questions from the audiences on topics such as dissolution of the EU, Scottish independence, Ireland’s prospects, and the spread of populism around the world.
Bosch alumni from classes IV through XXXI participated in this event that was open to the public and saw attendance from a wide range of interested audience members. The discussion was also livestreamed on the RBFAA YouTube channel, and can be viewed here at any time: