Streit Council
The Streit Council for a Union of Democracies (pronounced /str-aɪt/) is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit foreign-policy organization working toward closer cooperation and deeper integration among the advanced democracies. It researches transatlantic and other inter-democratic institutions, as well as global problems and issues that might benefit from integration among democracies.
History
Formed in 2004, the Streit Council is a successor to Federal Union, Inc., founded by Union Now-author Clarence Streit in 1939 and renamed the Association to Unite the Democracies (AUD) in 1985. The Atlantic Union Committee, a sister organization founded by Streit in 1949, promoted political integration specifically among the members of NATO.
Mission
The mission of the Streit Council for a Union of Democracies is aimed at working towards "better-organized and stable cooperation among the experienced democracies as the key for more effective U.S. engagement in world affairs. A non partisan independent organization, it carries into the twenty-first century the traditions and principles which gave rise to the Federal Union movement. It builds on transatlantic and other inter-democracy institutions, supporting their treaty commitments to grow into ever wider membership and deeper integration, and their underlying vision rooted in democratic federalism.It does this principally by promoting research and education, and facilitating public discourse and awareness on democracy, federalism, Atlanticism, and the organization of inter-democracy relations."
Leadership
The Streit Council's President is Richard Conn Henry, professor at Johns Hopkins University, and its Vice President is Don Dennis, former Vice President of the Foreign Policy Association. D. Bruce Shine is Chairman of the Board, and Tiziana Stella is the Executive Director. Dr. Solomon Passy, member of the Bulgarian Parliament (1990-1991, 2001, 2005-2009) and former Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs (2001-2005), is Honorary President.
Events
The Streit Council has sponsored, or cosponsored, with the National Press Club, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), the Hudson Institute, Radio Free Europe, among others, lectures and panel discussions on its core issues including global warming, the transatlantic market, and transatlantic security policy, as well as the future of NATO and the EU. These events have featured many prominent experts, including: Jose Maria Aznar (former Prime Minister of Spain), Edouard Balladur (former Prime Minister of France), Sen. Bob Bennett, David Calleo (SAIS), Rep. Jim Costa, Rep. Phil English, Niall Ferguson (Harvard University), Ellen L. Frost (National Defense University), Ettore Greco (Institute of International Affairs), Daniel Hamilton (Center for Transatlantic Studies, SAIS), Amb. Robert Hunter (former U.S. Representative to NATO), Andrei Kortunov (President of the Public Science Foundation), Charles Kupchan (Council on Foreign Affairs), Anatol Lieven (New America Foundation), Vladimir Lukin (former Russian Ambassador to the United States) Erika Mann (Member of European Parliament), Antonio Martino (former Italian Minister of Defense), Gen. William Odom (former Director of National Security Agency), Gleb Pavlovsky (Director, Effective Policy Foundation), Peter Rodman (former Assistant Secretary of Defense), Sergey Rogov (Director, Institute of USA and Canada), Richard Rosecrance (Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University), Ivan Rybkin (former Secretary of the Russian Security Council), Stanley Sloan (The Streit Council), Julianne Smith, Bruce Stokes (National Journal), Irwin Stelzer (Hudson Institute), Strobe Talbott (President of the Brookings Institution), Yevgeny Yasin (former Russian Minister of Economy) and John Williamson (Peterson Institute for International Economics).
Publications
Since 1946, the Streit Council has published a quarterly journal, Freedom & Union, which features articles by academics and policymakers. In 2008, the Streit Council also provided the English translation of former French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur's book For a Union of the West, published by the Hoover Institution.
Other activities
Funded by the Herb and Mayme Frank Educational Fund via AUD, the Streit Council also gives scholarships and grants for graduate research on aspects of international democratic federal integration.
See also
- Clarence Streit
- European Union
- NATO
- OECD
- World Bank
- Atlantic Club of Bulgaria
- Atlantic Council of the United States