Global Atlanticists

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:

• Foster open and candid transatlantic dialogue on foreign, security, economic, and development policy
• Strengthen coordination amid differing political, economic, and military capacities
• Build and sustain durable personal and professional networks among current and emerging leaders

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.