The Armed Forces Dialogue was last held in 2019.
In this project, initiated in 1993 as “Ebenhausen Dialogue”, the General Inspector of the German Bundeswehr invites annually a group of high-ranking military leaders to discuss current topics of foreign and international security policy. The dialogue aims to facilitate a critical exchange of views. Temporarily there were up to three seminars: Dialogue with the Russian Federation (1993-2013), Dialogue with Russian Field Officers (2001-2009), and the ongoing Dialogue with Ukraine (since 1995).
The purpose of the Armed Forces Dialogue is:
The German Ministry of Defense considers the annual armed forces dialogue to be "a cornerstone" of bilateral military relations. Since 1993, up to 300 officers from the Russian Federation and more than 250 officers from the Ukraine were participants of an Armed Forces Dialogue. These confidential encounters do not only offer orientation for military leaders, but also serve as a foundation for broader bilateral measures and as a stimulus for concrete reform incentives in the armed forces.
In November 1989, the Chairman of NATO's Military Committee, General Wolfgang Altenburg, and the Special Assistant to President George H.W. Bush for European and Soviet Affairs, Robert D. Blackwill, as well as Sir Michael Quinlan, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, attended a conference in Moscow and agreed to institutionalize relationships with Russian officers.
With the help of the German Ministry of Defense and the then director of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), Prof. Michael Stürmer, General Altenburg developed the idea to set up seminars in dialogue format. In November 1993, the first dialogue "Armed Forces and Democracy" with Russian generals and admirals took place at SWP's site in Ebenhausen. In the spirit of trilateralism, seminars were also held in Great Britain (IISS) and the United States (Harvard University). In 1995, under the direction of General (ret.) von Sandrart, the first SWP seminar with generals and admirals from the Ukraine was conducted. As proposed by the Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr, General von Kirchbach, a third seminar with Russian field officers was introduced in 2001.
The basic seminar document for the annual Armed Forces Dialogue is a Letter of Intent signed by the Chiefs of General Staffs, which provides for, among other things, for the seminar format (closed sessions alter with excursions), the participation of Russian/Ukrainian officers invited by the Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr, the financing through the German Ministry of Defense and the head of the seminar (the seminars for generals are directed by a retired German four star general). Five officers from all Bundeswehr services (Army, Air Force, Navy, Joint Service, Medical Service) participate in each seminar.
The program starts with a foreign and security policy discussion on the first seminar day. The seminars for generals include additional foreign and security policy topics, which both sides had agreed upon in advance (e.g. conflicts and cooperation in regions of mutual interest, deployments abroad in support of international peacekeeping operations, disposal of toxic waste, terrorism etc.). SWP experts and Russian/Ukrainian officers take turns for initiating the discussions.
The seminars include visits to the Federal Chancellery and the Bundeswehr Operations Command, a seminar day in the Ministry of Defense, meetings with members of the German Bundestag, a reception in the Embassy of the Russian Federation or of the Ukraine, as well as presentations and talks at banks, churches, business, or civil projects in the social and cultural sphere. In addition, there are discussions with leading editors of German media and a visit to the Federal Press Conference (Bundespressekonferenz). The ten-days seminars include a trip to Brussels for further briefings and talks at the headquarters of the EU, NATO and SHAPE. The seminars end with an evaluation of the program and an agreement of central topics for the next seminar.
Dr. Michael Paul
Project Director SWP
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)
German Institute for International and Security Affairs
Ludwigkirchplatz 3-4
10719 Berlin
Germany
Telephone +49 30 88 007-113
E-Mail: michael.paul@swp-berlin.org
Dr. Margarete Klein
Deputy Project Director SWP
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)
German Institute for International and Security Affairs
Ludwigkirchplatz 3-4
10719 Berlin
Germany
Telephone +49 30 88 007-256
E-Mail: margarete.klein@swp-berlin.org
General a.D. Wolfgang Altenburg
Seminar Director 1993-1999
General (ret.) Peter-Heinrich Carstens
Seminar Director 2000-2010
General (ret.) Karl-Heinz Lather
Seminar Director 2011-2013
Lt. Colonel (ret.) Harald Nielsen
Deputy Director 1995-1996
Lt. Colonel (ret.) Frank Tschudowsky
Deputy Director 1997-1998
Colonel (ret.) Otto Freiherr Grote
Deputy Director 1999-2002
Colonel (ret.) Konrad Freytag
Deputy Director 2003-2011
Colonel (ret.) Herbert Danzer
Deputy Director 2012-2013
Colonel (ret.) Hartmut Pohlman
Project Director SWP 1993-1995
Dr. Michael Paul
Project Director SWP since 1996
General (ret.) Hans-Henning von Sandrart
Seminar Director 1995-2001
General (ret.) Dr. Klaus Reinhardt
Seminar Director 2002-2007
General (ret.) Rainer Schuwirth
Seminar Director since 2008
Lt. Colonel (ret.) Harald Nielsen
Deputy Director 1995-1996, 1998
Lt. Colonel (ret.) Frank Tschudowsky
Deputy Director 1999
Colonel (ret.) Jürgen Kewitsch
Deputy Director 1997, 2000-2003
Colonel (ret.) Bernd D. Schulte
Deputy Director 2004-2005
Colonel (ret.) Konrad Freytag
Deputy Director 2006-2011
Colonel (ret.) Peter Graf von der Schulenburg
Deputy Director since 2012
Colonel (ret.) Hartmut Pohlman
Project Director SWP 1993-1995
Dr. Michael Paul
Project Director SWP seit 1996
Brigadier General Klaus-Willi Gauchel
Seminar Director 2001-2003
Brigadier General (ret.) Hans Hübner
Seminar Director 2004-2008
Major General (ret.) Peter Nagel
Seminar Director from 2009
Colonel (ret.) Otto Freiherr Grote
Deputy Director 2001-2003
Commander (ret.) Max Lübke
Deputy Director 2004-2008
Colonel (ret.) Herbert Danzer
Deputy Director 2009
Dr. Michael Paul
Project Director SWP since 2001