Cold War Then and Now?
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| Date | 9:30 13 October 2018 - 16:30 13 October 2018 |
| Location | City of London School, London, UK |
| Planners | Integrity Initiative, Simon Bracey-Lane |
| Participants | Hannes Adomeit, Robert Brinkley, Stephen Dalziel, Maria de Goeij, Laimonas Talat-Kelpsa, Peter Williams |
| Description | A free conference that appears to have been part of a broader campaign by the Institute for Statecraft to promote Cold War 2.0. |
Cold War Then and Now? was a free one day event booked by Simon Bracey-Lane. Craig Murray described this as an event "at which an entirely unbalanced panel of British military, NATO and Ukrainian nationalists extolled the virtues of re-arming against Russia..."[1]
Official narrative
This is a unique, free event, aimed particularly (but not only) at those under the age of 30, who never experienced the Cold War in the second half of the twentieth century.
We start with a look at a divided Berlin. For a little over 28 years, Berlin was divided by a wall, which became the symbol of the division of Europe between two systems: the democratic freedom which NATO was formed to defend; and repressive dictatorship. The countries of Eastern and Central Europe were only too ready to throw off their shackles when the opportunity arose in 1989. Former member states of the eastern bloc were eager to join NATO, not only to share the values which the Alliance represents, but also because they feared the intentions of their neighbour to the east, Russia.
In the decade after the Berlin Wall came down, Western countries and organisations such as NATO made great efforts to bring Russia into the modern family of nations. But since Vladimir Putin came to power in the year 2000, Russia has increasingly rejected the West’s values, and is now actively waging a battle against them.
This event brings together specialists from the UK, Europe, Russia, NATO, the British Army and the Foreign Office to describe what life was like in the shadow of the Wall; the efforts made to build a new Europe; and the threat being posed now to European values and security.
Preliminary Programme
- 0930-1000: Arrival and Registration
- 1000-1005: Welcoming remarks and moderating throughout, Maria de Goeij (The Institute for Statecraft) Session 1: Europe Divided
- 1005-1020: Introduction: What was the Cold War? by Stephen Dalziel (Former BBC Russian Affairs Analyst)
- 1020-1040: Life on both sides of the Berlin Wall by Hannes Adomeit (Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Security Policy at the University of Kiel)
- 1040-1100: Gathering Military Secrets: The Role of BRIXMIS by Major-General Peter Williams (Retired British Army officer who engaged in “legalised spying”)
- 1100-1120: Break Session 2: The Era of Hope
- 1120-1125: Introduction; We knocked down a Wall and started Building Bridges by Stephen Dalziel
- 1125-1145: NATO Reaches Out to the East Speaker TBA
- 1145-1205: Diplomacy in a Time of Hope by Robert Brinkley (British Ambassador to Ukraine, 2002-2006; also served in British Embassies in Germany and Russia)
- 1205-1225: “Meanwhile in the Baltic States…” Ambassador Laimonas Talat-Kelpsa (Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- 1225-1330: Lunch Break (sandwiches provided) and Discussion Groups[2]
Known Participants
All 6 of the participants already have pages here:
| Participant | Description |
|---|---|
| Hannes Adomeit | Spooky German academic who headed up the German cluster of the Integrity Initiative. |
| Robert Brinkley | Retired UK diplomat, Chatham House |
| Stephen Dalziel | Spokesman for the Institute for Statecraft and "Research and Staff Coordinator" of the Integrity Initiative with "Forty years of dealing with Russia"... “Definitely not secret service, I promise you.” Russo-British Chamber of Commerce director |
| Maria de Goeij | Integrity Initiative/Institute for Statecraft polyglot |
| Laimonas Talat-Kelpša | Lithuanian diplomat who took part in the Cold War Then and Now? event. |
| Peter Williams | Retured Major General who took part in an Integrity Initiative event in 2018. |
Rating
26 May 2019 Robin A brief introduction into this eventAn overview of this underresearched event organised by the Integrity Initiative.
