The German scapegoat: Berlin’s inevitable role in the US presidential election
Germany cannot avoid being dragged into election debates in the US. On defence, it should focus on its own national security interests
Experts & Staff
Majda Ruge
Senior Policy Fellow
Areas of expertise
Nationalism, illiberal democracies & state capture, post-conflict state building & institutional reforms, CFSP, Western Balkans, transatlantic relations
Languages
English, German, Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian, conversational French
Biography
Majda Ruge is a senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations, based in Berlin. Before joining ECFR, she spent three years as a fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute/SAIS at the Johns Hopkins University. She has twice testified as an expert witness at hearings of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the Western Balkans.
Ruge worked in management and advisory capacities for the Delegation of the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. During this time she participated in key state-building reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which merged the sub-state customs and tax administrations into a single state-level institution.
Between 2012 and 2014, she was a post-doctoral fellow and lecturer at the Otto-Suhr-Institute of the Free University of Berlin, where she taught courses on international relations and nationalism. From 2014 to 2016, she lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she was associated with the Gulf Research Center.
Ruge holds degrees from the European University Institute (Ph.D.,2011 and M.A., 2006), Central European University in Budapest (M.A. in International Relations and European Studies, 2001) and Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia (B.A. in International Relations, 2000).
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How to kill four birds with one stone: The West’s foreign policy challenge in Serbia
EU and US policymakers have it within their gift to change the dynamic in their relations with Serbia. Taking on Western Balkans kleptocracy lies at its heart.
A united front: How the US and the EU can move beyond trade tensions to counter China
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Polarised power: The three Republican ‘tribes’ that could define America’s relationship with the world
Three Republican ‘tribes’ are competing to write their next president’s US foreign policy. Whether ‘restrainers,’ ‘prioritisers,’ or ‘primacists’ emerge on top will have profound implications for Europe and the globe
Midterm blues: What a Republican win could mean for Europe, Ukraine, and the return of Trump
A Republican-controlled Congress could have significant consequences for the EU – on funding for Ukraine, but also at the level of political symbolism and attitudes towards Europe’s conservative strongmen
The past and the furious: How Russia’s revisionism threatens Bosnia
Russia is working to keep Bosnia divided. But many of the country’s problems are homegrown or exacerbated by neighbouring states.
Closed-skies diplomacy: What the Western Balkans can do for the EU
The still-incomplete web of allies and institutions that the EU has woven in the Balkans in the last 30 years is not only strong but also valuable to its geopolitical struggle against Russia
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Europeans should be concerned not just with whether Trump will win but how to deal with the version of post-Trump America that could emerge in 2025
The exaggerated death of European sovereignty
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Publications
The past and the furious: How Russia’s revisionism threatens Bosnia
Russia is working to keep Bosnia divided. But many of the country’s problems are homegrown or exacerbated by neighbouring states.
Hostage state: How to free Bosnia from Dayton’s paralysing grip
Restoring independence to the judiciary and strengthening the rule of law are key to the country’s future stability and success
Articles
The German scapegoat: Berlin’s inevitable role in the US presidential election
Germany cannot avoid being dragged into election debates in the US. On defence, it should focus on its own national security interests
To tell the Truth: The Republican party’s Ukraine divide
Mitch McConnell uttered comforting words in Munich, but European policymakers would serve the cause of European defence better by planning for a Trump or DeSantis presidency
How to kill four birds with one stone: The West’s foreign policy challenge in Serbia
EU and US policymakers have it within their gift to change the dynamic in their relations with Serbia. Taking on Western Balkans kleptocracy lies at its heart.
A united front: How the US and the EU can move beyond trade tensions to counter China
The Inflation Reduction Act may reduce US dependency on China, but it also risks harming the transatlantic relationship. European governments must position themselves as critical allies for the US in order to preserve their economies – and effectively counter China’s geo-economic challenge.
Polarised power: The three Republican ‘tribes’ that could define America’s relationship with the world
Three Republican ‘tribes’ are competing to write their next president’s US foreign policy. Whether ‘restrainers,’ ‘prioritisers,’ or ‘primacists’ emerge on top will have profound implications for Europe and the globe
Midterm blues: What a Republican win could mean for Europe, Ukraine, and the return of Trump
A Republican-controlled Congress could have significant consequences for the EU – on funding for Ukraine, but also at the level of political symbolism and attitudes towards Europe’s conservative strongmen
Closed-skies diplomacy: What the Western Balkans can do for the EU
The still-incomplete web of allies and institutions that the EU has woven in the Balkans in the last 30 years is not only strong but also valuable to its geopolitical struggle against Russia
No laughing MAGA: What the next US presidential election could mean for Europe
Europeans should be concerned not just with whether Trump will win but how to deal with the version of post-Trump America that could emerge in 2025
The exaggerated death of European sovereignty
The US may have dominated Western efforts to defend Ukraine, but future American leaders will expect Europeans to take up most of the burden of dealing with Russia
Council of war: The future of UN cooperation on Bosnia and Syria
Europe needs to prepare for a breakdown of multilateral cooperation with Russia. Yet, in doing so, it should be careful not to provide space for Moscow to justify unilateral action of its own.
Podcasts
China’s strategic approach to the Western Balkans
How much influence does China already have in the Western Balkans and how should European policymakers react?
Events
14 Dec
Dayton at 25: The future of Bosnia and Herzegovina
This two-day conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement gathered a distinguished line-up of speakers to discuss the challenges facing the country and to explore options for transatlantic cooperation in the Western Balkans
In the media
The US will put greater pressure on allies in Europe to massively increase financial and military aid to Ukraine
The pressure to reduce aid to Ukraine is the most relevant foreign policy consequence of the US election for Europe, analyses Majda Ruge
This ability mostly rests on the fact that its goals overlap with those of its proxies in Bosnia
Majda Ruge on Russia’s ability to assert its goals in Bosnia
These are two countries where Russia has expressed its appetite territorially
For Majda Ruge, granting candidacy to Ukraine and Moldova is mainly a “geostrategic decision” from the EU to send a message to Moscow
Majda Ruge shares perspectives on the Western Balkans
We can notice a slight change of tone in the government-controlled media
Majda Ruge comments on domestic political developments in Serbia