The Euro Widens the Culture Gap
In his piece entitled “The Euro Widens the Culture Gap” from the New York Times, AICGS board member Josef Joffe explains how the Euro has made worse any cultural differences that existed between European countries pre-euro times. The PIIGS countries – Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain – should never have been admitted to the Euro, argues Joffe. Now, the borrowing afforded to them by the Euro allowed them to continue their profligate ways, thus leading to the current crisis facing the euro-zone as a whole.
Losses, Legacies, Lessons
In this week’s At Issue, Executive Director Jack Janes examines where we stand a decade beyond September 11, 2001 and how Germany and the United States can confront the losses and legacies of 9/11, while building on lessons learned in shaping a shared agenda for the future.
Two Face Diplomacy – The Turkish-Israeli Clash Contradicts Ankara’s Foreign Policy Principles
Following Israel’s refusal to apologize for last year’s attack on a Gaza Aid Flotilla, Turkey has cut diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv. According to former AICGS Fellow Rana Islam, Turkey’s decision goes completely against their “zero problems” agenda and further threatens an already unstable region. However, all hope may not yet be lost.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Wahl: der general Trend mit einer beunruhigenden Überraschung
Jede Wahl in Deutschland hat ihren Reiz (nicht nur für Wahlforscher) und die Wahl in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern war natürlich eine wichtige Abstimmung der Bürger über ihre Landesregierung und das dortige politische …
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Elections: the general trend, but with a worrying twist
Any election in Germany has its own appeal (not only for electoral analysts) and the election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was an important chance for many people living there to judge their government and their political elite. However, it is hard to find good arguments for the importance or the consequences of the 2011 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern election for Germany as a whole, or to find a conceivable influence of the results of this election on the important decisions that have to be made in Germany in the next few weeks regarding the financial and European crisis.
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Support Our WorkEuro Stabilization: problems, eurobonds, political union perspectives
The EU Summit of 21 July 2011 has brought considerable adjustment impulses for the stabilization of the euro-zone. At first sight, the main problem is sovereign debt financing of Greece, Ireland, and Portugal—the three countries that benefit from euro-zone rescue packages—but, in fact, the bigger issue is a series of broader challenges for EU integration and institutional reforms in the euro-area.
Elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
The results from last Saturday’s parliamentary elections in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern won’t have any major consequences for Angela Merkel’s governing coalition, or Europe for that matter, argues AICGS contributor Dr. Dieter Roth. Voter support for Germany’s far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), on the other hand, should not be overlooked.
A Break in Bickering? Time off from Tantrums
In this week’s At Issue, Executive Director Dr. Jackson Janes discusses the frustrations of voters and their leaders as they both head into a time to perhaps help temper tensions during the coming weeks.
Controversy over German Military Sales to Saudi Arabia
In a highly controversial move, the German parliament has agreed to sell 200 Leopard II tanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While Germany has claimed to have consulted the …
