Podcast July 21, 2026 • 4:07 pm ET

So what’s the strategy for Germany?

By the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Host Matthew Kroenig is joined by Oliver Linz, director of policy planning at the German Federal Foreign Office to discuss Germany’s strategy as a middle power to address geopolitical change and turmoil in the 21st century.

This special episode was recorded during the D-10 Forum, a convening of policy planning directors and national security experts from 10 leading democracies, held annually at the Atlantic Council.

Listen to So What’s the Strategy wherever you get podcasts

Spotify app logo
YouTube app logo

About the podcast

Host Matthew Kroenig, vice president and senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, sits down with senior US and allied officials and leading experts to explore the strategies shaping today’s most pressing global security challenges. Inspired by General Brent Scowcroft, who famously asked his team “So what’s the strategy?” the series dives into how leaders think about power, policy, and the decisions shaping the future of international security. Watch and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

So What’s the Strategy Podcast

The strategies behind the world’s toughest security challenges, explained by the leaders shaping them.

Related content

Explore the program

The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security works to develop sustainable, nonpartisan strategies to address the most important security challenges facing the United States and the world.

Related Experts: Matthew Kroenig

Image: The German flag, the European flag, and the NATO flag wave in the wind in front of a dramatic sky during the visit of Mark Rutte at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on July 9, 2025. (Photo by Christian Marquardt/NurPhoto)NO USE FRANCE