of

Steven Keil

Senior Fellow, Security and Defense Policy
Washington, DC Office
My Areas of Expertise:
Defense Cooperation Foreign Policy NATO
Germany Russia United States

Steven Keil leads GMF’s security and defense portfolio in the Washington, DC office. Keil's specific area of expertise focuses on transatlantic security, with an emphasis on the U.S., Russia, Germany, and NATO. Prior to joining GMF, Keil was a Robert Bosch Fellow at the CDU/CSU Foreign Policy Working Group in the German Bundestag, as well as in the Eastern European and Eurasian research division at the German Institute for International and Security affairs. Keil also previously worked as a legislative staff member in the United States Senate. 

Keil has an extensive analytical track record at the intersection of U.S. national security, regional European security, and Russian foreign policy. He has advised and briefed numerous policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic, and his work has been featured in outlets like Defense One, Defense News, the National Interest, The Hill, and Just Security, among others. 

Keil received his bachelor’s from the University of South Dakota in political science, German, and history and holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service BMW Center of German and European Studies. He speaks German and basic Russian. 

Media Mentions

by
Steven Keil
“ Ukraine has basically tried to make the argument that we're not just fighting for ourselves, we're fighting for Europe as well, and kind of the broader national security, particularly as it relates to Atlantic security. ”
CBC
by
Steven Keil
“ [Soviet-era arms is] what they inherited after the end of the Cold War. It makes up a bulk of their own military capacity. ”
Defense One
by
Steven Keil
“ It would have been hard to imagine Germany doing these things and saying these things even two months prior. But what was a significant shift for Germany wasn’t necessarily enough for the rest of the trans-Atlantic community. ”
Grid
by
Steven Keil
“ I think if you take Putin at his word, the consequences could be significantly dire. [A no-fly zone] would be essentially perceived as a direct intervention in the conflict by NATO, and likely to receive that kind of response by Russia. ”
VICE News
by
Steven Keil
“ To the extent President Trump's rhetoric around NATO helped increase defense spending, it was likely more out of a fear that the US commitment to European security was faltering rather than a positive reinforcement of mutual commitments to the Alliance and Euro-Atlantic security. ”
ABC News
by
Steven Keil
“ [Sanctions against Russia] show that it is a politically difficult problem in Germany. If Scholz failed to collaborate with his allies, the crisis would deepen and Germany's leadership would decline. ”
Translated from Japanese
Jiji

Featured Work