AGI
Steve Szabo

Stephen F. Szabo

Senior Fellow

Dr. Stephen F. Szabo is a Senior Fellow at AGI, where he focuses on German foreign and security policies and the new German role in Europe and beyond. Until 2017, he was the Executive Director of the Transatlantic Academy, a Washington, DC, based forum for research and dialogue between scholars, policy experts, and authors from both sides of the Atlantic. Prior to joining the German Marshall Fund in 2007, Dr. Szabo was Interim Dean and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and taught European Studies at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. He served as Professor of National Security Affairs at the National War College, National Defense University (1982-1990). He received his PhD in Political Science from Georgetown University and has been a fellow with the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the American Academy in Berlin, as well as serving as Research Director at AGI. In addition to SAIS, he has taught at the Hertie School of Governance, Georgetown University, George Washington University, and the University of Virginia. He has published widely on European and German politics and foreign policies, including. The Successor Generation: International Perspectives of Postwar Europeans, The Diplomacy of German Unification, Parting Ways: The Crisis in the German-American Relationship, and Germany, Russia and the Rise of Geo-Economics.

Recent Content

Reset

Richard Grenell: An American Ambassador Leaves Berlin

In 1959, Eugene Burdick and William Lederer published a best-selling novel, The Ugly American.  It was a searing critique of the American professional diplomatic corps and the lack of cultural …

Testing State Leaders in a Pandemic: The Rise of Andrew Cuomo and Markus Söder

“Never let a crisis go to waste.” So think many politicians when opportunities emerge to amplify their reputations. The truth is that crises do help politicians and voters to separate …

Choosing A Chancellor: from Bavaria to Berlin?

The abrupt departure of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK) from the race to replace Angela Merkel as chancellor leaves several potential CDU candidates vying for the opportunity. The immediate focus has been …

The New German Math

The chaos in Thuringia is another sign that the German party system is fragmenting, with dangerous consequences both for Germany and for its role in Europe. The new German political …

Will There Be a German Trump?

Germany has been a model country for decades overcoming a dark past. Contemporary Germans have learned the lessons of their history and have resisted the temptations of a resurgent nationalism …

Great Expectations: Germany, America, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall Thirty Years Later

As Germany commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a look back to 1989 and the expectations that surrounded that momentous event reveals some that were …

Ohne Mich Once Again

The German government’s decision not to participate in a Western effort to respond to Iran’s actions in the Persian Gulf is not surprising but deeply disappointing nonetheless. It is not …

The End of a Not-So-Grand Coalition

The abrupt resignation of Andrea Nahles as chair of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) is another sign that the Grand Coalition government is a zombie, still walking but otherwise quite …

The Past Shapes the Future: The German Constitution at 70

The Federal Republic of Germany celebrates its 70th  birthday this year. Much has changed since 1949. Today, the FRG encompasses all of Germany and not just the West, as it …

Germany: Hegemon or Free Rider?

Germany has been the most pro-European of all the big players within the EU.  Europe’s largest country in terms of population and economic weight, Germany has always been reluctant to …