Conflict in Europe, great-power competition in the Indo-Pacific, the emergence of critical and emerging technologies, and tensions around the world make today’s geopolitical environment more dangerous than at any time since the Cold War. How are democracies navigating these challenges to their security and defense? In this episode, Ulrike Franke, a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, and David Rader, the former Deputy Director of the Office of Global Investment Review at the U.S. Department of Defense, discuss the views from Washington and Berlin and how democratic leaders can work together to secure their interest and values in the 21st century.