GARD III
  Description
  Program
  Executive Summary

GARD IV
  Description
  Program
  Participants

All Participants

GARD@brown.edu

I. The Program

In late 2000, the German-American-Russian Dialogue (GARD) was initiated as an innovative, interdisciplinary trilateral approach to the political, economic, and social challenges that will determine the international agenda in the coming decades. The GARD project aims to create a self-renewing long-term policy forum among critical leaders from Russia, Germany, and the United States in order to tackle common issues and resolve collective challenges.

Too often in the last decade, the key channels of communication have become frozen and leadership expectations were shadowed by Cold War socialization or reflective of easy assumptions about perpetual peace and the primacy of domestic wants. The goal is to create a new intellectual basis for the leadership transition now taking place in all three countries.

Generously supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York the German-American-Russian Dialogue seeks to:

• regularly bring decisionmakers together in order to address key policy issues of long-term trilateral significance;
• look critically at the points of convergence and conflict;
• craft recommendations for constructive public and private action; and
• develop and strengthen the communication channels among the project participants.

Since 2001, when the dialogue was officially launched, GARD has convened three well-received and highly productive conferences with high-ranking policymakers and opinion-leaders from the three countries.

II. The Method

Under the framework of GARD, four meetings over a period of two years will be convened on policy issues of long-term trilateral significance. Each conference is two to three days in duration, and begins or concludes with a reception where group members have the opportunity to interact with national elites who are critical to the discussion and dissemination of the group’s ideas and conclusions. Occasionally, the group is divided into national or thematic working groups.

As initially conceived, the first three conferences are each devoted to specific crucial issues and challenges facing the trilateral relationship. Brief discussion papers prepared by the core participants as well as supplementary reading materials are distributed before each conference begins, serving to facilitate a fruitful exchange of ideas. The final results of each conference are summarized in interim reports, which will also be presented at the final GARD meeting. This final meeting will be more than a summary session outlining the discussion of the previous conferences, but a mutual attempt to chart a course for the trilateral relationship. A final report will be disseminated to the participants and to a wider audience in each country. Public outreach as well as intra-group interaction is encouraged throughout and in conjunction with a continual internal evaluation of group development and impact.

The themes chosen as a framework for discussion at the first three conferences include:

1. European integration and its impact on European-American and European-Russian relations;
2. new politics of new leaders: Pragmatism, nationalism, regionalism, and multilateralism;
3. reform of international financial institutions and debt relief for Russia;
4. the future of arms control: New agendas, new instruments
5. a new international order? Changes in international law and international organization;
6. democracy and foreign policy: Challenges and opportunities;
7. the information society, technological change, and trilateral security;
8. human rights: The new regional and global agenda;
9. crisis and conflict management: Lessons learned for the future agenda;
10. new risks and threats: Mechanisms of common crisis management.

III. The Participants

The selection of a single group that is small enough to facilitate open and frank exchange and diverse enough to represent a broad range of views has been critical to the success of the project. Based on the experience over the past 25 years, a core group of approximately 30 participants was selected for GARD according to certain criteria, including age and potential multiplier effect. Ideally, 10n participants come respectively from Russia, Germany, and from the United States.

The core group includes representatives from:

1. politics
2. academia
3. business and finance
4. multilateral/international institutions
5. media

The group is limited to 30 participants; however, 3 to 6 external experts may be invited to attend each meeting. In its continuing commitment to set up a dialogue among emerging leaders, GARD also aims to include a number of younger and future leaders who have not yet had conclusive career success but are those who deserve visibility and support from the international community and have personal and professional interests in participating in this program. This structure enhances participants to build up trust and to capitalize on one another’s strengths. Former experience of intragroup dynamics shows that participants have generally established strong friendships by the third meeting and often continue corresponding and working together for many years.

IV. Project History

Since its initiation in late 2000, three meetings have been convened under the framework of the GARD project. The final, fourth meeting will be held in early November 2002. During the past project activities, which will be outlined in the following paragraphs, GARD has changed its institutional affiliation. Originally initiated and conducted at the Aspen Institute Berlin, the project found a new home at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University in April 2002.

Preparation Phase

Informal GARD activities started in July 2000. In the first months, the advisory team was set up, consisting of Dr. Catherine McArdle Kelleher, at this time director of the Aspen Institute Berlin, and two senior consultants—Dr. Celeste Wallander (Council on Foreign Relations), and Prof. Klaus Segbers (Institute for East European Research, Free University of Berlin). In addition, Dr. Alexei Arbatov, Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, was consulted occasionally.

Throughout the first months, the advisory team benefited from brainstorming sessions in all three capitals concerning the content of the project. Consultation meetings in Berlin, Moscow, and Washington also took place in order to identify and get in contact with potential GARD core group members from the three countries. Strategic and coordination meetings were set up between the project director and the senior consultants. Small meetings and consultation talks were held in September and December 2000, and throughout spring 2001.

First GARD Meeting, Aspen Institute Berlin, Germany, June 23-25, 2001

As a starting point, the first meeting aimed to provide a basis to build up group identification and to stimulate further group activities. However, several important issues were identified for the initial discussion, including perspectives and prospects, as well as preconditions for Russian cooperation with and within Europe, dominant styles of political leadership and their implications for domestic and foreign policymaking in the near and the long term future, and general international economic perspectives with particular regard to possibilities for Russian integration into world markets.

The first GARD meeting convened 26 experts from the three countries. Nine participants came from the United States, eight from Germany, and eight from Russia. In addition, one external expert from the Council of the European Union attended the meeting.

Fourteen participants held academic positions, four represented national administrations, and four came from multilateral/international institutions. Two representatives from the media and two with a business and finance background attended the meeting.

For further information see also the program and the executive summary of the first GARD meeting.

Second GARD Meeting, Aspen Wye River Conference Centers, Queenstown, MD, October 7-9, 2001

The topics and guiding issues that were tackled at the second GARD meeting flowed mainly from the outcomes of the first meeting. However, the events of September 11th emphasized even more that the regulation of global risks and challenges has become one of the most important tasks in world politics. In addition, the growing domestic influence of the media on foreign policy agenda setting was also identified as a key issue to be discussed to a greater extent in order to comprehend the operational mechanisms and processes of foreign policymaking in the three countries.

Despite the terrorist attacks of September 11th and the worldwide reactions, the project team decided against a postponement of the conference. In fact, a unique window of opportunity was seen in integrating the issue of international terrorism into the discussions, and to encourage participants to review their fields of expertise in the light of the new political reality.

The dynamic discussion of the second meeting demonstrated that participants felt a strong need for such an exchange of views and positions. The secluded environment of the Aspen Wye River Facilities enhanced the possibility of re-evaluating the situation in world politics with experts from the three countries.
In the second GARD meeting, the group consisted of 26 participants; 14 came from the United States, 7 from Germany, and 5 from Russia. In addition, 2 outside experts attended the meeting. The professional formation consisted of 12 academics, 6 journalists, 4 participants from business and finance, 3 representatives from multilateral/international institutions, and 2 government officials.

For further information see also the program and the executive summary of the second GARD meeting.

Third GARD Meeting, Kartause Ittingen, Switzerland, July 17-20, 2002

Now administered by Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies, GARD held its third meeting in a former Carthusian monastery in Ittingen, Switzerland. Several important topics were discussed, including trilateral reactions to the terrorist events of September 11th, the emerging international order (set most often in a “unilateralist v. multilateralist” rubric), and international economic trade.

As in the meetings before, the German, American and Russian participants were from various professional backgrounds, such as politics, academia, and the media. Many of the 20 participants had served in government as advisors; this experience allowed for personal exchanges that were highly informed and refined.

Members of GARD’s core group shared insights and knowledge with new members to the GARD project.

For further information see also the program and the executive summary of the third GARD meeting.

Fourth GARD Meeting, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, Providence, R.I., November 7-10, 2002

The final GARD meeting was held at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies in Providence, Rhode Island. New topics were discussed including China and regional security and Asia. Reoccurring and important topics were addressed in new and systematic ways, including a discussion of the economics of energy. “Democratic deficits,” also a reoccurring and important topic, was also formally addressed in the first panel of the conference. Appropriately, the final panel was devoted to the future of the trilateral agenda.

The German, American and Russian participants were from various professional backgrounds, such as politics, academia, economic institutions and the media. Of the 29 participants, 12 came from the US, 10 from Germany and 7 from Russia. Members of GARD’s core group shared insights and knowledge with new members to the GARD project.

For further information see also the program and participant page of the fourth GARD meeting.