Cross-Cutting Currents
Transatlantic Primer 2022
The U.S. and Europe have an opportunity to engage closely on a broad range of challenges in 2022. To that end, the Bertelsmann Foundation has produced Cross-Cutting Currents, a transatlantic primer, as a foundational and introductory resource for those who seek a better understanding of the transatlantic relationship. This publication addresses the most pressing issues affecting five of the transatlantic community’s key actors—the U.S., Germany, France, Italy, and the UK. This bloc of countries face several domestic and foreign challenges that require multilateral solutions.
Cross-Cutting Currents provides an introductory overview of each transatlantic partner’s approach to domestic, transatlantic, and global challenges. The publication contains 25 primers covering five distinct policy domains—trade, security, climate, China, and technology. Each primer consists of a concise two-page background of the country’s past, present, and anticipated future policy positions.
The publication also includes a two-page spread of infographics. The first is a chart that shows where various political parties stand on specific subtopics in each policy field. The chart includes traffic light indicators to display where individual parties stand: green signifies support; red indicates opposition; yellow means mixed views; and grey designates no official position. The second infographic provides a snapshot of public opinion on questions pertaining to each policy area. Finally, the reader can find a glossary at the end of the publication of bolded terms found throughout the text and an overview of all featured political parties.
The combination of primers, political party charts, and citizen surveys about each country showcases where transatlantic policies converge and where there is room for allies to cooperate in 2022.
Authors
Brandon Bohrn
Manager, Transatlantic Relations
Chloe Ladd
Manager, Transatlantic Relations
Daniela Rojas Medina
Research Analyst
Brandon Bohrn joined the Bertelsmann Foundation in January 2020 as Manager of Transatlantic Relations. Specifically, he manages the German-American relations project.
Before joining Bertelsmann, Brandon served as an intern with the U.S. Embassy Berlin, U.S. Consulate Düsseldorf, and U.S. Senate. He also participated in the Fulbright program as an English teaching assistant in Wanne-Eickel, Germany.
Brandon completed the TransAtlantic Masters Program (TAM) in political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As part of the program, he spent one year as a DAAD scholar at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Brandon is also a graduate of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. He speaks German and some Turkish.
Chloe Ladd joined the Bertelsmann Foundation in June of 2021 as Manager of Transatlantic Relations. Her research at BFNA primarily focuses on France and the implications of current French policy in the United States and Germany. She is also in charge of the Bertelsmann Foundation Fellowship, a program bringing together policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic.
A graduate of Georgetown University’s Master of German and European Studies in the School of Foreign Service, her focus was on France and its role in transatlantic security. She received her undergraduate degree in Spanish and International Relations at the University of Virginia.
Originally from France, she speaks fluent French and, having spent time in Valencia, Spain abroad during her undergraduate experience, she also speaks Spanish.
Daniela Rojas Medina joined the Bertelsmann Foundation in October of 2021 as a Research Analyst. Her work specifically focuses on technology policy issues in the U.S. and European Union. She is also responsible for RANGE, our crowdsourced forecasting platform.
Daniela recently obtained her Master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where she did research on emerging technology and privacy, particularly the benefits and risks of vehicle-to-everything communication technology (V2X). She also graduated from Penn State University with BA degrees in International Politics and German, as well as a minor in Global Security.
Prior to joining Bertelsmann, she was a Program Officer at the German American Business Council in Washington, D.C. and worked with BMW’s Government and External Affairs team.
Originally from Venezuela, she speaks fluent Spanish and, having spent time in Switzerland and Germany, she also speaks some German.