Ben Hodges & David Ranan

A debate between Ben Hodges, former US military commander in Europe, and David Ranan, author and expert on intercultural communication, on two highly topical global challenges: the Russia-Ukraine war and the Middle East conflict. Ben Hodges takes a pragmatic view of security issues and military strategies, while David Ranan takes a civilian perspective, focusing on intercultural communication, diplomacy and understanding between nations and cultures. In a joint discussion, they ask each other questions: in the first half, Hodges answers Ranan’s questions; in the second half, Hodges asks and Ranan answers.

General Ben Hodges studied at the US Military Academy and went through a career in the US Army from lieutenant to lieutenant general. From 2014 to 2017, he was Commander of the US Armed Forces in Europe. Since then, Hodges has served as a security policy analysis advisor to several agencies.

Dr. David Ranan is an Israeli-British-German author and cultural and political scientist. He examines the anti-Semitism discourse in Germany and its politicization as well as anti-Semitism among Muslims.

Moderation: Dr. Alexandra Schwarzkopf

Language: English