John Kornblum is a senior counselor at the international law firm Noerr LLP and a former U.S. ambassador to Germany. He is a member of the AGI Board of Trustees.
Thirty Years After the Fall: The Lessons of 2019
As we commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall, one lingering question remains. Why were so many people shocked when it happened? We had enough warning. There was no reason …
Come on, Germany!
The change of German governments in 1998 marked not only the defeat of Helmut Kohl, who was the longest serving Chancellor in the 20th century, but also the arrival of a …
President Trump: Europe’s Last Chance?
Donald Trump’s election as American president is the latest and most dramatic sign of a major political and social sea change, the effect of which we are just beginning to …
The Amerexit
As I write in mid-July 2016, all the Transatlantic chatterati can seem to talk and write about—except when temporarily interrupted by terrorist outrages like the one at the Istanbul airport …
Das Paradox des Fortschritts
Jeder Vortrag, jeder Artikel fängt heutzutage mit demselben Satz an: Es geht der Wirtschaft eigentlich sehr gut. Von der Krise fast erholt. Handel und Technologie florieren. ABER die Menschen sind …
Hans-Dietrich Genscher: A Life of Longing for Stability
The resounding response from the press to the death of Hans-Dietrich Genscher reminds us of how much German political equilibrium depends on the existence of central, idealized, larger-than-life figures. Mr. …
Die Welt Ist Aus Den Fugen
In a recently published interview, John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and an AGI Trustee, shares his views on the challenges Europe faces in a complex and continuously changing …
Germany and America
Taken as a whole, the 25 years following the fall of the Berlin Wall have in the West been an unquestioned success. Two parts of Germany merged hostile systems without drama or dangerous economic strain. To ensure that nationalism will not be reborn, the former Western Europe of the European Communities has expanded into a continent-wide Union of 28 democratic nations, some of which had not known true freedom in their entire histories.
Europe Needs a New Narrative
In this recent interview, former U.S. ambassador to Germany and AGI Trustee John Kornblum suggests that the West needs to change its narrative on the crisis in Ukraine and the …
There Are Better Role Models for Germany than Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck was born on April 1, 1815. 200 years after his birth, and 70 years after the end of World War II, the “Iron Chancellor” is no longer …
Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Senator Corker, Members of the Committee, I am honored to have been invited to join your hearing on the crisis in Ukraine. I was a frequent guest of this Committee …
Like a Conquered Nation
Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and AGI Trustee John Kornblum argues that German leadership in Europe is plagued by its impetus to react on the basis of past experiences. This …
