The Economics of AfD Expansion
With the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) achieving almost 25 percent in the elections in the two east German states of Brandenburg and Saxony in September 2019, and both …
An Accidental Brexit – Key Insights Beyond the Snap Election
The British EU-referendum of 2016 resulted in a 51.9 percent majority in favor of Brexit. There are, however, serious doubts about whether this referendum was an orderly one. One can …
Populist Political Wave in the UK and in the U.S.: On Brexit and Trump’s Economic Policy
2016 As a Special Year for the UK and the U.S. The UK experienced a rather surprising victory by the supporters of Brexit—i.e., those in favor of the UK leaving …
British Referendum Pains and the EU Implications of BREXIT
On 23 June 2016, should a majority of British voters decide to leave the EU—nearly forty-five years after joining the Community—the EU would lose 17 percent of its GDP and …
International Spillover of EU Disintegration
The Western European message of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s was fairly clear: More regional economic integration and the building of joint institutions is good for the European Union …
Helmut Schmidt
At 96 years of age, Helmut Schmidt, former Chancellor of Germany and respected elder statesman, passed away on 10 November 2015, in Hamburg. He had been active in the German …
Monitoring the Negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement
Issues and Key Perspectives at the Start of the Negotiations On July 8, 2013, the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) began in Washington, DC. This marks …
Overcoming the Euro Crisis
The euro crisis has come to a preliminary halt following the two massive liquidity injections by the European Central Bank (ECB) in December 2011 and February 2012. However, these ECB …
Euro 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.