Where is the Nations First Forum being held?

The Nations First Forum is being held in Warsaw, POL.

When does the Nations First Forum take place?

The Nations First Forum begins in late February.

Nations First Forum: Prospects for Transatlantic Cooperation and the Future of Nations

Name: Nations First Forum: Prospects for Transatlantic Cooperation and the Future of Nations
Start: 2026-02-24 00:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-02-24 00:00:00+00:00
Location: Warsaw

Feb 24, 2026Warsaw, PolandIn-person

Registration open

The Nations First Forum, held in Warsaw, POL, is an international gathering focused on the future of transatlantic cooperation and the role of nation-states in a globalized world. It brings together policymakers, academics, and experts to discuss critical issues shaping international relations, emphasizing national sovereignty and strategic alliances.

Committees & topics

Topics
The Future of Transatlantic Cooperation · International Relations in a Multipolar Era · Geopolitics and the Contest for Spheres of Influence · International Security in an Age of Renewed Great-Power Competition · The Global Economy at a Turning Point · The Future of International Trade · Global Energy Security and the Transition · Strategic Competition and the Race for Technology

Why it matters

This forum is significant because it addresses the evolving landscape of international relations, particularly the dynamics between national interests and broader transatlantic cooperation. In an era where multilateral institutions face increasing scrutiny and national sovereignty is reasserted by various actors, understanding the perspectives presented at this forum is crucial. The discussions aim to identify pathways for collaboration that respect national particularities while fostering collective security and economic prosperity across the Atlantic.

The event provides a platform for exploring how traditional alliances can adapt to new geopolitical realities, including shifts in global power and emerging security challenges. By convening diverse voices, the forum seeks to generate actionable insights into strengthening partnerships and navigating complex international issues, making it a key event for those interested in the future trajectory of global governance and interstate relations. The focus on national perspectives within a cooperative framework offers a counterpoint to purely globalist approaches, highlighting the enduring importance of individual states in shaping world affairs.

How to prepare

To effectively engage with the themes of the Nations First Forum, delegates should undertake a comprehensive review of contemporary transatlantic relations, paying close attention to areas of both convergence and divergence among key partners like the USA and European nations. Understanding the historical context of alliances and the philosophical underpinnings of national sovereignty will be particularly beneficial. Delegates should also familiarize themselves with the concept of "hidden stakeholders" to anticipate less obvious influences on policy discussions.

Consider how different national interests might intersect or conflict when discussing shared challenges such as economic stability, security threats, and technological advancement. Preparing a "stakeholder mapping workshop" in advance can help identify key actors and their potential positions on topics related to national sovereignty versus international cooperation. Furthermore, delegates should be prepared to engage in "dynamic analysis" of the arguments presented, adapting their understanding as new information and perspectives emerge during the forum. Focus on "engagement strategies" that promote constructive dialogue, even when confronting differing national priorities.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 4 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Poland

As the host nation, POL is likely to emphasize the importance of strong national defense and sovereignty, particularly in light of regional security concerns, while also advocating for robust transatlantic ties.

Role in topic

POL plays a central role as the host, providing a geographical and political context that often prioritizes national security and the strengthening of alliances with the USA and other Western partners.

United States

The USA will likely advocate for continued leadership in transatlantic security and economic frameworks, balancing national interests with the need for collective action.

Role in topic

The USA is a pivotal actor in transatlantic cooperation, often setting the tone for security and economic policy discussions. Its perspective on national sovereignty versus multilateral engagement will be critical.

Germany

DEU is expected to highlight the importance of European unity and multilateralism within the transatlantic context, while also navigating its own national economic and security priorities.

Role in topic

DEU is a major economic and political power within Europe, and its approach to transatlantic relations often involves advocating for a strong European voice while maintaining close ties with the USA.

United Kingdom

The GBR will likely focus on its independent foreign policy and trade relationships post-Brexit, seeking to reinforce bilateral ties with the USA and other nations while defining its role in European security.

Role in topic

The GBR's post-Brexit stance introduces a unique dynamic, emphasizing its national sovereignty and ability to forge independent alliances, particularly with the USA, while still being a key European security partner.

Topics & background

The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it.

The Future of Transatlantic Cooperation

The transatlantic relationship between North America and Europe has been the organizing axis of the Western order since 1945, institutionalized through NATO (1949), the Marshall Plan, the Bretton Woods system, and later the U.S.-EU partnership. For decades it underwrote collective defense against the Soviet Union, the liberalization of global trade, and a shared, if contested, commitment to liberal-democratic norms. The end of the Cold War briefly raised hopes of a 'peace dividend' but also exposed divergences over the Iraq War, climate policy, and digital regulation. Since 2014, and especially after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, transatlantic coordination has intensified on sanctions, military aid, and NATO enlargement to Finland and Sweden. At the same time, friction has grown over defense burden-sharing, industrial policy (notably the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act), tariffs, and divergent approaches to China. The return of 'America First' politics in Washington has reopened fundamental questions about U.S. security guarantees, prompting renewed European debate over 'strategic autonomy' and higher defense spending. Today the alliance faces a structural test: can it adapt to a multipolar world in which the United States is rebalancing toward the Indo-Pacific, Europe is rearming, and both sides must agree on how to handle Russia, China, and emerging technologies? The prospects for cooperation hinge on whether shared interests in security and prosperity outweigh growing divergences in political culture and economic strategy.

Key players

International Relations in a Multipolar Era

The post-1945 international order, built around the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions, and a U.S.-led network of alliances, has come under sustained strain. The unipolar moment that followed the Soviet collapse has given way to a more contested system in which China has emerged as a peer competitor to the United States, Russia has openly challenged European borders, and a growing cohort of 'middle powers' — including India, Brazil, Turkey, and the Gulf states — pursue hedging strategies rather than fixed alignments. Key flashpoints include the war in Ukraine, the Israel–Hamas war and broader Middle East instability, Taiwan and the South China Sea, and the conflict in Sudan. Institutions such as the UN Security Council are frequently paralyzed by P5 vetoes, while alternative forums like BRICS+, the SCO, and the G20 have gained relative weight. Debates over sovereignty, non-intervention, and the 'rules-based order' have sharpened, with many states in the Global South arguing that existing rules are applied selectively. The question facing diplomats is whether the current system can be reformed — through Security Council expansion, recalibrated international financial institutions, and renewed great-power dialogue — or whether competing blocs will entrench, producing a more fragmented and transactional diplomacy.

Key players

Geopolitics and the Contest for Spheres of Influence

Geopolitical competition has returned as the central organizing principle of world affairs. Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 reasserted the role of territorial conquest in Europe. In the Indo-Pacific, China's military build-up, maritime claims in the South and East China Seas, and pressure on Taiwan have driven new alignments such as AUKUS and the Quad. The Middle East has been reshaped by the Abraham Accords, the Saudi–Iranian rapprochement brokered by China in 2023, and the Gaza war that began in October 2023. The Arctic, Africa's Sahel, and the Western Pacific have become arenas of renewed competition over bases, minerals, and influence. Russian paramilitary activity in Mali, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic, Chinese infrastructure investment under the Belt and Road Initiative, and Western efforts via the EU's Global Gateway and the U.S.-led Partnership for Global Infrastructure illustrate how geoeconomics has fused with traditional geopolitics. The core dispute is over what kind of order replaces the unipolar moment: a renewed Western-led system, a Chinese-led alternative, or a more fluid multipolar arrangement in which middle powers extract concessions from all sides. The choices made on Ukraine, Taiwan, and the Middle East will largely define the answer.

Key players

International Security in an Age of Renewed Great-Power Competition

International security has been transformed by the return of large-scale interstate war in Europe, the modernization of nuclear arsenals, and the diffusion of disruptive technologies. The war in Ukraine has consumed unprecedented quantities of artillery, drones, and air defense, exposing weaknesses in Western defense-industrial bases and prompting record defense budgets across NATO. Russia's suspension of New START participation in 2023, combined with China's rapid nuclear build-up, has effectively ended the bipolar arms-control architecture inherited from the Cold War. Non-traditional threats have grown in parallel. Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, hybrid operations, election interference, and the militarization of artificial intelligence and outer space are now central security concerns, addressed in fora such as the UN OEWG on ICTs and the CCW Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems. Terrorism, while diminished as a top-tier U.S. priority, persists in the Sahel, Afghanistan, and parts of the Middle East. The security agenda thus spans deterrence and arms control, conventional rearmament, cyber and AI norms, and the protection of supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals, and energy. The challenge is to manage competition without sliding into open conflict, while preventing a multidimensional arms race.

Key players

The Global Economy at a Turning Point

The global economy is navigating the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the inflation surge of 2021–2023, and tightening monetary policy by major central banks. Growth has been uneven: the United States has outperformed expectations, the euro area and China have slowed, and many low-income countries face debt distress, with the IMF and World Bank warning of a 'lost decade' for development. Sovereign debt restructurings — from Zambia to Sri Lanka — have highlighted the difficulty of coordinating among traditional Paris Club creditors and newer lenders such as China. Structural shifts are reshaping the landscape: demographic decline in much of the developed world and China, an industrial-policy revival exemplified by the U.S. CHIPS and Inflation Reduction Acts and the EU's Green Deal Industrial Plan, and the accelerating energy transition. Artificial intelligence is being treated as a general-purpose technology with potentially large productivity effects, but also concentration risks. Meanwhile, fragmentation of trade and investment along geopolitical lines — what the IMF calls 'geoeconomic fragmentation' — threatens to lower global output. Policymakers must reconcile fiscal sustainability, climate investment, and security-driven industrial policy with the open-market principles that underpinned post-1945 prosperity. The outcome will shape global inequality, development financing, and the credibility of multilateral economic institutions.

Key players

The Future of International Trade

The rules-based trading system anchored in the World Trade Organization has come under sustained pressure. The WTO Appellate Body has been non-functional since 2019 due to the U.S. blocking of appointments, undermining binding dispute settlement. Tariffs imposed during the 2018–2019 U.S.–China trade war have largely been retained, and new measures — including U.S. export controls on advanced semiconductors, the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation — reflect a turn toward strategic, security-linked trade policy. Supply-chain disruptions during the pandemic, combined with the weaponization of economic interdependence after 2022, have driven 'friend-shoring,' 'de-risking,' and reshoring strategies. Regional agreements such as the CPTPP, RCEP, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the EU's network of FTAs are partially filling the gap left by stalled multilateral negotiations. Developing countries increasingly object that industrial subsidies and climate-related trade measures imposed by wealthier states amount to protectionism. The central question is whether the WTO can be reformed — restoring dispute settlement and updating rules on subsidies, digital trade, and environmental measures — or whether trade governance will continue to fragment into competing blocs and bilateral arrangements.

Key players

Global Energy Security and the Transition

Energy markets have been remade by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which prompted Europe to slash pipeline gas imports from Russia, build out LNG infrastructure, and accelerate renewables deployment under REPowerEU. Global oil markets remain shaped by OPEC+ production decisions, with Saudi Arabia and Russia coordinating supply cuts to defend prices. The United States has become the world's largest producer of both oil and LNG, giving it new geopolitical leverage but also exposing it to debates over export policy and climate commitments. The energy transition has gained momentum: the IEA projects fossil-fuel demand to peak this decade, and renewables now account for the majority of new power capacity. At the same time, the transition has surfaced new dependencies — China dominates refining of critical minerals and manufacturing of solar panels, batteries, and EVs — and exposed gaps in grid infrastructure, nuclear capacity, and transition finance for emerging markets. COP28 in 2023 produced the first explicit call to 'transition away' from fossil fuels, but implementation remains contested. Delegates must balance affordability, security of supply, and decarbonization, while navigating competition over the clean-energy supply chain and the equity demands of energy-poor nations.

Key players

Strategic Competition and the Race for Technology

Strategic competition between major powers has converged on a contest for leadership in foundational technologies: semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, and critical minerals. The United States has imposed escalating export controls on advanced chips and chipmaking equipment to China since October 2022, coordinated with the Netherlands and Japan. China has responded with its own export curbs on gallium, germanium, and graphite, and has accelerated domestic investment under initiatives such as 'Made in China 2025' and the Big Fund. The competition is not only bilateral. The EU has launched its Chips Act, Critical Raw Materials Act, and AI Act, seeking both capability and regulatory leadership. India, Vietnam, Mexico, and others are positioning themselves as beneficiaries of supply-chain diversification. In parallel, competition extends to standards-setting bodies, undersea cables, space launch, and the governance of AI, where summits at Bletchley Park (2023) and Seoul (2024) have begun to sketch international guardrails. The core dispute is whether this competition can be managed through guardrails — export-control regimes, AI safety institutes, and dialogues on military uses of AI — or whether it will harden into a technological decoupling that fragments the global innovation system.

Key players

Resources

News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for Nations First Forum: Prospects for Transatlantic Cooperation and the Future of Nations.

Recent reporting to ground your prep

China's New Strategy for Taiwan and Japan

Arming an archipelago: Is time running out for Europe's oldest DMZ? | Euronews

Antarctica: Overview of Geopolitical and Environmental Issues

Comprehensive approach to security: Federal Council launches consultation on Switzerland's security policy strategy

Lessons

Bite-sized lessons to build the basics

Hidden Stakeholders

Engagement Strategies

Dynamic Analysis

Stakeholder Mapping Workshop

Courses

Guided courses that go deeper on the topic

Media & Press Relations

Advanced Negotiation

Multilateral Negotiation

Policy Brief Writing

The states in play, with the data that shapes their stance

Country dossier

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By committee

Frequently asked questions

Nations First Forum: Prospects for Transatlantic Cooperation and the Future of Nations

Feb 24, 2026Warsaw, PolandIn-person

Registration open

Committees & topics

Topics
The Future of Transatlantic Cooperation · International Relations in a Multipolar Era · Geopolitics and the Contest for Spheres of Influence · International Security in an Age of Renewed Great-Power Competition · The Global Economy at a Turning Point · The Future of International Trade · Global Energy Security and the Transition · Strategic Competition and the Race for Technology

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 4 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

Poland

Role in topic

United States

The USA will likely advocate for continued leadership in transatlantic security and economic frameworks, balancing national interests with the need for collective action.

Role in topic

Germany

DEU is expected to highlight the importance of European unity and multilateralism within the transatlantic context, while also navigating its own national economic and security priorities.

Role in topic

DEU is a major economic and political power within Europe, and its approach to transatlantic relations often involves advocating for a strong European voice while maintaining close ties with the USA.

United Kingdom

Role in topic