Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer

GMF's Executive Office is reopening its internship program, starting this summer - and we're looking for our next superstar. You’ll work directly with me and the Executive Office, contributing to real-time policy analysis, preparing briefings and talking points, and engaging with some of the most pressing issues shaping the transatlantic relationship today - from European security and US foreign policy to tech innovation and trade. If you're DC-based, passionate about transatlantic relations and policy research, and ready to thrive in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment, this is your moment! 📍 Washington, D.C. 📅 Starting May 2026 👇 Apply here: German Marshall Fund Of The US - Summer 2026 Internship, Executive Office recruiting.paylocity.com/Recruiting/Job…

Great to welcome experts for a GMF roundtable on the rapidly evolving Europe–India strategic partnership and what it means for transatlantic relations, timed with the launch of GMF's new India Initiative earlier today. Grateful to @BonnieGlaser for moderating, and to Garima Mohan (@GarimaMo ) and Sameer Lalwani for sharing valuable insights on the political, economic, and security drivers behind this growing alignment. A timely discussion on how Europe and India are strengthening ties and what this means for transatlantic cooperation and the broader international order.

At a pivotal moment for Europe–India relations, we’re proud to announce the launch of GMF’s new India Initiative. Building on more than fifteen years of expertise, this initiative is led by GMF’s Garima Mohan (@GarimaMo ), PhD, one of the leading voices on European and transatlantic engagement with and in India. It will strengthen European understanding of India and deepen cooperation across trade, technology, security, and beyond. It will also open new avenues for US–Europe–India trilateral collaboration at a time when partnership across democracies is more important than ever. This is an exciting next step in our work to connect decisionmakers, business leaders and partners, generate actionable policy ideas, and drive long-term impact.

I am delighted to officially welcome Rachel Small to GMF today as our new Chief Operations and Finance Officer (COFO). Rachel brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Throughout her career, she has led teams and major initiatives spanning finance, human resources, information technology, facilities, and data analytics. Most recently, Rachel has held senior roles at United Way Worldwide, where she led community impact teams, built a government partnerships portfolio, and supported disaster response efforts in multiple states. She has notably led teams in complex and high-stakes environments, including supporting crisis management efforts in Hawaiʻi during the 2023 wildfires. She previously served as the New York state governor’s deputy secretary for public safety, overseeing operations across services, policies, and budgets for nine executive branch agencies, including the state police, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, and the Office of Victim Services. Earlier in her career, she was a unit chief at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where she led business intelligence and advanced data analytics programs. As COFO, Rachel will play a critical role in aligning our resources, capabilities, and operations with GMF's long-term strategic ambitions. A very warm welcome, Rachel. We are thrilled to have you with us!

Iran War at One Week: explore all GMF expert analysis of the war’s implications for regional, transatlantic and global security and policy. Follow us for updated content.

Last month, I led a transatlantic GMF delegation to Taiwan with GMF’s Bonnie Glaser. We met with the island’s highest leadership, including President Lai Ching-te, to discuss how Taiwan is strengthening its democratic resilience, preparing for emerging threats, and deepening ties with international partners. I was particularly struck by Taiwan’s increasingly sophisticated effort to diversify its international relationships and its clear recognition that defense modernization, supply chain resilience, and diplomatic legitimacy all depend on a broad coalition of democracies. In our latest piece, we explore why this moment presents a real opportunity for Europe and the United States to step up engagement, with concrete implications and recommendations for European and American stakeholders. Read the paper: gmfus.org/news/get-it-st…

We were honored to host Kherson Governor Oleksandr @Prokudin__ for an important conversation at the #MunichSecurityConference2026 that kicks off impactful programming that we’ve been working on for six months and are excited to unveil in the months ahead. Governor Prokudin shared critical lessons in resilience from the frontline region of Kherson with Ukraine's distinguished partners—from state secretaries to stalwart members of the European Parliament to the senator who leads the US delegation to MSC. These insights will inform the work of the Unbreakable Europe Working Group that GMF and the Kherson Military Administration will jointly establish with the publication of our book "Unbreakable Kherson" in June at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk. Thanks to Governor Prokudin and the international leaders who contributed to these discussions. Grateful to my colleague Josh Rudolph and his team for designing a program that will help translate Kherson's lessons into actionable policy.

Excellent conversation with California Governor @GavinNewsom at the #MunichSecurityConference2026 . We discussed the current state of transatlantic relations and the vital role that California-Europe partnerships can play in strengthening the broader alliance. GMF is advancing this work through our vibrant California Marshall Memorial Fellowship alumni community, connecting innovators and leaders across technology, industry, and climate to bridge Californian and European ecosystems on issues critical to the transatlantic partnership.

Timely conversation at the @MunSecConf with Germany’s Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, @schneidercar on the future of the transatlantic partnership. We talked about the importance of bipartisan engagement in the U.S., local-level cooperation, and framing environmental issues around resilience, competitiveness, critical infrastructure, and shared resources. Partnership, with concrete results, is how we strengthen both sides of the Atlantic.

It was a great honor to meet with @GovWhitmer from the State of Michigan at the Munich Security Conference. Together with @ClaudMajor, we had an excellent exchange on the importance of transatlantic defense and industry cooperation, and the critical work of subnational diplomacy through study tours and local dialogues. These state-level connections are vital to reinforcing the broader transatlantic relationship.

On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, I met with Andrew Puzder, the US Ambassador to the EU. We had a substantive exchange on the future of the transatlantic relationship, the intersections between tech and energy security, and the implications of AI. Grateful for a frank, forward‑looking exchange.

Ahead of the Munich Security Conference, I spoke with @annmeiritz at @handelsblatt about EU competitiveness, Germany’s strategic repositioning, Ukraine, and the state of the transatlantic alliance. Looking forward to the conversations ahead in Munich.

I am delighted to welcome @Beniaminoirdi to GMF as a nonresident senior fellow with our Global Power Shifts team. Beniamino is one of Italy’s leading foreign policy experts, with deep expertise on the geopolitics of the Mediterranean, great-power competition, democratic resilience, and hybrid threats. He brings 17 years of experience in the Italian government, including roles in the prime minister’s office, as special adviser to Italy’s foreign minister, and postings in Tokyo and Washington, DC. At a time when Italy plays an increasingly prominent role in transatlantic relations, we are thrilled to have his unique perspective strengthen GMF’s work. A warm benvenuto Beniamino!

📣 GMF is pleased to welcome Beniamino Irdi as a nonresident senior fellow on the Global Power Shifts team. His areas of expertise include the geopolitics of the Mediterranean, great-power competition, democratic resilience, and hybrid threats. He is the founder and chief executive officer of HighGround, a political-risk consulting firm based in Italy. Beniamino previously spent 17 years in the Italian government, focused on foreign policy, national security, and strategic affairs. More info: gmfus.org/news/beniamino…

📰 The US National Defense Strategy is out! 🌍 GMF experts @CarrieALee1, @kristineberz, @BonnieGlaser, and @KStotesbery offer their analyses on what this means for the US, Europe, the Indo-Pacific, US Congress and beyond. Read it here: buff.ly/qj68NZj

Wrapping up a powerful three days in Taiwan with the @gmfus' transatlantic delegation. Our agenda focused on the intersection of #technology, #defense, and #diplomacy: 👉 Strategic Dialogue: A highly productive working session with Foreign Minister Lin @chia_lung, focusing on Taiwan’s defense resilience, integrated diplomacy, and the critical need to deepen Taiwan's strategic alliances with European partners. 👉 Defense Innovation: A visit to Chiayi County to gain firsthand insight into Taiwan’s emerging drone ecosystem and to engage in face-to-face dialogue with industry operators and the exceptional teams at Army Unmanned Aircraft System Training Center and the Asia UAV AI Innovation Application R&D Center. The takeaway is clear: there is immense potential to deepen collaboration between European defense industries and Taiwan’s tech and innovation sector, anchoring a democracy-driven supply chain. Under @BonnieGlaser leadership, GMF is committed to continuing our policy work on Taiwan and strengthening transatlantic cooperation across the Indo-Pacific.

A second very productive day in Taipei with the @gmfus transatlantic delegation. We had the distinct privilege of meeting with Vice President @bikhim to discuss the future of transatlantic engagement in the region and with Taiwan. Our conversation focused on how we can turn shared challenges into opportunities—specifically regarding #Europe-#Taiwan cooperation on #defense #technology and #innovation. In today's shifting security environment, these face-to-face exchanges and actionable policy ideas are essential for building the trust, resilience and deterrence needed to face regional and global challenges. Grateful to the Vice President for her time and for such a substantive discussion on the path forward.

Thank you President @ChingteLai for receiving the @gmfus transatlantic delegation in Taiwan and for the excellent conversation. Through my colleague @BonnieGlaser's important policy work, GMF will continue to strengthen #Taiwan-#Europe and #transatlantic cooperation in the #IndoPacific and beyond.

Greenland is not an anecdote. It is the first open test of whether the U.S. is prepared to use economic coercion against an ally to secure territorial gains—and whether Europe is prepared to respond as a geopolitical actor in its own right. The Greenland crisis should be read less as a Trump episode and more as a symptom of a deeper shift in Washington: the demise of the automatic Atlantic reflex. The U.S. is moving toward a more transactional model—ad hoc deals backed by economic and geopolitical leverage to enforce allied alignment with U.S. priorities. For Europe, the question is no longer whether the U.S. remains "reliable" in the traditional sense. It is how to manage an ally that intentionally undermines European core interests. Europe must move beyond reactive diplomacy and build its own strategic agenda while preserving the transatlantic link. That starts with recognizing the dependency is not one-way. On Ukraine, Greenland, Iran, and the Arctic, Washington needs Europe: for military bases and logistics, market access, managing Russia and China, burden-sharing, and implementing sanctions regimes. This mutual dependence explains the coexistence of rupture gestures—withdrawals from international bodies, hardball on Greenland—and simultaneous signals of reliance—insistence on European defense spending and tight coordination on Ukraine. The transatlantic relationship will become more compartmentalized: ➡️ Where interests align, cooperation remains critical—Ukraine requires a dual-pillar security architecture in which Europe and the U.S. share responsibilities; space and innovation are natural areas for continued partnership. ➡️ When interests deeply diverge, Europe must act alone—and say no if it wants its red lines to be taken seriously in Washington. ➡️ When Washington steps back, Europe must build alternative coalitions—on climate, multilateralism, and arms control, Europeans should move ahead with partners like Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and India to prevent strategic vacuums. All of this places a premium on European unity—but not necessarily the kind that requires all 27 to agree. What matters is operational unity. In practice, this has emerged through the Coalition of the willing on Ukraine and smaller groupings like the E5 (France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland) that can move quickly on military, diplomatic, and economic measures. The next five years will not be about "saving" the old transatlantic relationship; they will be about rebalancing it. The strategic task Europeans must set for themselves by 2030 is to move from being collateral damage of U.S. decisions to being co-authors of a shared agenda. That requires investment, political will, and a new honesty about both sides' leverage. GMF is actively leading this effort with governments, business and thought leaders, as well as the next generation of transatlantic leaders on both sides of the Atlantic. My full interview (in French) in Les Echos 👇

Thank you for your warm welcome, @josephwutw and and to your team at the #NSC, for a very productive conversation on #Taiwan-#Europe and #transatlantic cooperation in the #IndoPacific and beyond. It is an honor to lead the @gmfus transatlantic delegation in Taiwan over three days alongside my colleague @BonnieGlaser.