The Global Atlanticists Network, initiated by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in 2003, is a bipartisan transatlantic platform that brings together German and U.S. lawmakers alongside senior policy advisors and thought leaders. As a flagship program of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s Washington office, the Network was created to strengthen the shared foundations of the transatlantic relationship - democratic governance, open and fair economic cooperation, and collective security anchored in the NATO.
Today, the Global Atlanticists Network operates in a markedly more complex and contested global environment. Democratic societies face mounting pressure from geopolitical rivalries, Russia’s war against Ukraine, strategic competition with China, accelerating climate change, technological disruption driven by artificial intelligence, and growing polarization within democracies themselves. Against this backdrop, the Network has evolved to serve as a forum for forward-looking, pragmatic transatlantic cooperation.
Comprised of elected officials from across the political spectrum, experts from the think tank and academic communities, and senior decision-makers from both sides of the Atlantic, the Global Atlanticists Network seeks to broaden and modernize the transatlantic agenda. Its goal is to provide a reliable foundation for effective European–American cooperation in addressing shared global challenges. The Network aims to:
Through these efforts, the Global Atlanticists Network brings together the next generation of transatlantic leaders - not only through high-level policy discussions and meetings, but through lasting professional relationships that endure beyond individual programs.
Since its inception, the Network has convened across the United States, Germany, and key partner countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the broader transatlantic neighborhood. Past and recent agendas have addressed issues such as European and global security, NATO’s role in a changing strategic environment, Russia and Ukraine, China and global power shifts, economic resilience, the future of work, energy and climate policy, migration, democratic backsliding, populism, and the future of liberal democratic societies.
Participation is by invitation only.
Our Advisory Board of the Global Atlanticists consists of eminent experts, diplomats and politicians with expertise and experience in transatlantic policy. The Advisory Board meets once a year either in Washington DC or in Berlin, in person or virtual to discuss in a frank manner the challenges to transatlantic relations and earmark topics that the Global Atlanticists could tackle during the next year.
Metin Hakverdi
Metin Hakverdi is serving as the Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation for the German Government. He has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2013 and currently serves on the Bundestag’s Committee on European Union Affairs. He is a member of the board of Atlantik-Brücke.
Almut Moeller
Almut Moeller is the Director for European and Global Affairs at the European Policy Centre in Brussels. From 2019 to 2024 she served as State Secretary and Plenipotentiary of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg to the Federal Government, the European Union and for Foreign Affairs.
John K. Glenn
John K. Glenn is Professorial Lecturer in International Affairs at the Elliott School at GW University. He has served in senior leadership positions at the National Endowment for Democracy, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Jan Techau
Jan Techau has researched and worked on foreign policy and security issues inside and outside of the German government for 25 years. He joined the Eurasia Group in May 2023 as Director Europe, covering Germany and European Security and Defense from Berlin.
Pia Bungarten
Pia Bungarten has spent most of her professional career with the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation (FES). She headed the foundation’s scholarship program, which supports talented German and international students and encourages them to take responsibility for sustaining democracy.
Jeremi Suri
Jeremi Suri holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas. He is a professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Dr. Suri is author and editor of eleven books on contemporary politics and foreign policy.
Julianne Smith
Julianne Smith served as the United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2021 to 2024 in the Biden administration. Previously, Smith served as Deputy and Acting National Security Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Knut Panknin
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