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Atlantic Strategy Group - The Atlantic and Global Risks

From

28
4:00 pm May 2018

To

30
12:00 pm May 2018

Lisbonne, Portugal

The Atlantic Strategy Group (ASG) is a convening activity of the Wider Atlantic Program, a GMF-OCP Policy Center joint initiative. Launched in 2015, ASG is an annual meeting that includes roughly 40-50 high-level participants from North America, Europe, Latin America, and Africa.

One important aim of this conference is to strengthen the network of people and institutions with a sustained interest in Atlantic-wide debate, which complements the GMF-OCP Policy Center yearly Atlantic Dialogues conference in Morocco.

The event addresses issues of shared interest for Atlantic actors including economic transformation, regional integration, trade and investment, security, stability, and governance, while offering a timely and valuable forum in which leading stakeholders from all sides of the Atlantic Basin can examine, together, the issues and trends that are re-ordering the world – and identify the most important areas of interest convergence.

Agenda 

 

Monday, May 28

16:00 – 16:30

Welcome and introduction to the Atlantic Strategy Group

16:30 – 18:00

1st Session: Atlantic Politics in a Time of Turmoil 

Chaotic politics around the Atlantic basin, north and south, signal the end of complacency about sovereignty, globalization and stability. How should these developments, including mounting nationalism and protectionism, and the revolt against established parties, be interpreted? Is political risk increasing? What are the implications for stakeholders in Atlantic stability?

Tuesday, May 29    

10:00 – 11:30

2nd Session: Strategic Risks and Atlantic Stakes 

Against a backdrop of conflict and chaos in key regions, great power competition is back. Tension with Russia has taken on an Atlantic dimension, once again. China is acquiring a deeper economic, political and security stake in the Atlantic. Europe seeks a more active role in international affairs, with an Atlantic dimension, even as American engagement looks less predictable. Flashpoints in Asia could easily transform this equation. How are global developments affecting strategic risk in the Atlantic – and the centrality of the Atlantic in global geopolitics?

11:30 – 12:00

Coffee Break

12:00 – 13:30

3rd Session: New Dynamics in Atlantic Geo-Economics

Rapid changes in technology, manufacturing, infrastructure and shipping are reshaping Atlantic geo-economics. Expansion of the Panama and Suez canals, and port development around the Atlantic basin are relatively traditional elements of change. But changes in manufacturing and global supply chains, as well as energy trade and information technology could bring sweeping changes, affecting economies north and south. Efforts to develop the “blue economy” hold further promise. What is happening? What is on the horizon? How will governments and businesses adapt?

13:30 – 15:00

Network Lunch

15:00 – 16:45

4th Session: Mobility and Maritime Security 

The Atlantic may be free of large-scale animating conflicts. But it is not a zone of stability. The maritime dimension of irregular migration presents enormous challenges for human security. Trafficking routes across the Atlantic link the security interests of North, Central and South America, the Caribbean, West Africa and Europe. Piracy and maritime crime remain a reality in an environment where many states lack the capacity for surveillance and interdiction. What are the realities, and what are the implications for maritime and coastal security

Wednesday, May 30    

10:00 – 11:30

5th Session: Putting the Atlantic Back in Transatlantic Relations

In recent decades, the Atlantic itself has not figured prominently in transatlantic relations. Stability and the absence of geopolitical competition have been taken for granted. Today, many elements of this Atlantic equation, from trade to security – including human and environmental security are in flux. New actors, from inside and outside the Atlantic basin, are making their presence felt. To what extent can leading transatlantic institutions, including 
NATO, adopt a more active posture toward the Atlantic itself? What are the promising themes? What are the likely constraints?

11:30 – 12:00

Conclusions and Next Steps

 

Speakers