Events - Event View

Mass migration, and the problems associated with it, have directly abetted the rise of populist parties in Europe. Opposition to immigration was the prime driver of support for Brexit, it brought a far-right party to the German Bundestag for the first time since the 1950s and it propelled Marine Le Pen to win a third of the vote in the French presidential election. In addition to calling for stronger borders, however, these parties are invariably illiberal, anti-American, anti-NATO and pro-Kremlin, making their rise a matter of serious concern for the national security interests of the United States. Speaker Tom Hanson is a foreign policy consultant and former career U.S. Foreign Service Officer. Currently, he serves as program secretary of the St. Paul-Minneapolis Committee on Foreign Relations, advisor to Global Minnesota’s Great Decisions program and Diplomat in Residence at the University of Minnesota –Duluth.

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