Day 3 of the Strategic Competition and Russia resident course, taking place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, from Jan. 26 to Feb. 20, 2026, had participants exploring the processes through which national security strategies are formed and executed. The session offered a comparative perspective, highlighting how national priorities, strategic culture, and policy decisions collectively shape a country’s security strategy.
The panel featured German Col. Konrad Lau, Marshall Center professor, and U.S. Army Col. Barbara Fick, Marshall Center director of plans and strategy, moderated by U.S. Marine Corps Col. Adam Jeppe, course lead. Their perspectives framed later practicums in which participants applied real-world case studies to identify, assess, and address national security challenges relevant to their own institutions and countries.
“If you understand the perspectives of different nations, of different states, on security issues in their environments, then perhaps you can develop an idea how to assess it that it fits best to your own country,” Lau said, underscoring how history, geography, and societal development shape strategic thinking and decision-making.
Core themes, he said, such as integrated security and rules-based cooperation, underpin Germany’s national security strategy while leaving room to develop and update focused sub-strategies, such as cybersecurity and space, as security dynamics shift.
Fick addressed how U.S. national security priorities have evolved over time in response to changing global dynamics and national interests. Focusing on strategic adaptation, she highlighted the importance of allied burden-sharing and European leadership, grounded in confidence in Europe’s capacity and role within the transatlantic security framework. She further underscored the importance of cooperation within the transatlantic defense industrial base, noting that aligned production and complementary investment, rather than competition, will sustain collective security outcomes.
The session set the foundation for a core course exercise: comparing national security approaches within participant groups, examining where strategies converge or diverge, and applying those insights to develop approaches that are both nationally grounded and internationally aligned.