Jonathan D. Katz

Formerly Senior Fellow and Director, Democracy Initiatives
Washington, DC Office
My Areas of Expertise:
Civil Society Defense Cooperation Democratic Decline Foreign Policy
Balkans Caucasus Central and Eastern Europe
Jonathan D. Katz was formerly Senior Fellow and Director, Democracy Initiatives at GMF.

Prior to joining the State Department in 2010, Katz had several leadership roles in the U.S. Congress. From 2007-10 Katz served as the staff director of the Europe Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. From 2003-06 he was the minority staff director for the Europe and Emerging Threats Subcommittee of this Committee. From 1999-2006 he was the legislative director and senior foreign policy advisor for Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL). Katz was instrumental in the creation and leadership of the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans, the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, the U.S.-Kazakhstan Interparliamentary Friendship Group, the Congressional Indonesia Caucus, and the Congressional Study Group on Turkey.

Earlier in his career, Katz helped to lead several congressional campaigns. He received a bachelor's in speech communications from Syracuse University in 1994.

Media Mentions

by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ Russia has used the grain deal as a bargaining chip to hold over the heads of Ukrainians but also international negotiators... Russia doesn’t deserve a medal for creating a war, carrying out war crimes, and causing global instability that caused this food crisis in the first place. ”
Translated from English
Foreign Policy
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ You're going to have bilateral donors, international financial institutions and other multilateral instruments that will be used to support reconstruction recovery. ”
Translated from English
Voice of America
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ There seems to be no appetite amongst Belarusians to want to enter this conflict, so that's why this would have to be really forced by the Kremlin to push Mr. Lukashenko into action. He's more interested in preserving his own power than anything else ”
Newsweek
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ If we’re talking about addressing issues like cyber and updating diplomacy in development to meet 21st-century challenges, you really need to have this in place, otherwise you’re missing a key component of the legislative process. It really forces members together on both sides of the aisle to have to deal with these very difficult issues. ”
Defense One
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ It's going poorly for Russia. Because of this, Putin could use a war declaration to "maintain some domestic momentum to continue to do what he's doing. He doesn't have a tremendous amount to show on the battlefield. A war declaration would then have a domestic side to reporting his narrative to the Russian public to maintain support. ”
Newsweek
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ I think from the perspective of Moscow, they want to build a case that this whole thing was started by NATO and the United States. Putin is using the boogeyman of NATO, of the United States, to justify the actions that he is taking to the Russian domestic population. ”
Newsweek
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ While such threats are taken very seriously by the US and NATO—which is why troop levels have increased in countries near Ukraine—Russia's threats are strategic and part of the Kremlin's war of disinformation. ”
Newsweek
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ Our main goal is to describe what steps need to be taken for the West to fully understand what is happening in Ukraine and to document all the facts. As soon as we understand, we will be able to prevent these crimes. ”
Translated from Ukrainian
Detector Media
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ Even though there's not NATO membership for Ukraine right now, the relationship between NATO and Ukraine has never been closer. ”
Newsweek
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ Putin is calculating right now, if this spills over into something more significant he may decide to use whatever weapon is at his disposal. If he feels that this is going beyond Ukraine into these other spaces, including with NATO and the United States, I think all bets are off the table. ”
Business Insider
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ Putin is calculating right now, if this spills over into something more significant he may decide to use whatever weapon is at his disposal. If he feels that this is going beyond Ukraine into these other spaces, including with NATO and the United States, I think all bets are off the table. ”
Business Insider
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ [Putin] is this century's equivalent to Hitler, and the threat he poses to Europe, US and global security extends far beyond the current conflict in Ukraine. Like Hitler, Putin has amassed unquestionable power in Russia, wiped out political opposition with little to no check on his regime and its use of military force or other hybrid tools to brutally carve out and illegally conquer territory in surrounding nations. ”
VOA News
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ There are no major differences between what's happening in Ukraine and Putin's past actions in Chechnya, Syria, and other conflict zones. Putin has used force like this before, committing human rights violations that have been grotesque and cost countless lives. ”
Business Insider
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ While the administration has been quite clear about not turning this into World War III it is constantly having to fine-tune its strategy as Russia’s violent incursion intensifies. It will be an unavoidable issue as the humanitarian and military situation in Ukraine escalates further. ”
The Sydney Morning Herald
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ There would be an expectation, from the European Union aid mechanisms to US and international systems, that... help would be needed. ”
HuffPost
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ Russia never wanted Ukraine as a whole, including Crimea, to exist and undermined Ukraine at every opportunity to ensure that Ukraine was not a democratic country with ties to the West. ”
Translated from Turkish
VOA News
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ You are likely to see very fine lines drawn between countries that choose to engage with Europe and the US, and those that saddle up to Russia. ”
Politico
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ I find it hard to believe Moscow would want full rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia. If the border came down, if there was more inter-dependence in the region and stability, then there would be less dependence on Russia. ”
Asia Times
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ The awards to Kremlin critics this year do not make them 'anti-Russia' prizes. This isn't about calculating whether you can have a positive relationship with the Kremlin. This is about human rights and democracy. ”
Deutsche Welle
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ It seems that the [US] administration is coming to the conclusion that the threat from Russia and the threat of what could happen in Ukraine has a profound impact on the national security of the United States and the transatlantic community, in fact, on global security. And I think we're on the verge of a much more powerful response from the West than previously thought. ”
Translated from Russian
VOA News
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ I think there's full confidence in the State Department, in the foreign service... to carry out what needs to be carried out while these while these nominees are going through the confirmation process. ”
Washington Examiner
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ The definition of world policeman is outdated in the sense that U.S. engagement globally now is really a focus on what the U.S. and this administration and partners see as the most important issues. ”
Deutsche Welle
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ What is most important is that democracy in Georgia remains strong and that the political parties that are now operating in a very tense political environment are thinking about what is best for the Georgian people and for Georgian democracy. ”
Translated from Russian
Voice of America
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ Putin's actions are activities of an authoritarian dictator. And the German Chancellor (Merkel) is the epitome of democracy, so there is a huge contrast in terms of the achievements of the two leaders and their political legacy. ”
VOA News
by
Jonathan D. Katz
“ There is no non-intervention doctrine. But what I think you have seen from this Administration is its desire to shift to what they view as the U.S. foreign policy priorities today and what they also believe are the priorities of U.S. allies and partners. ”
Monocle

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