Cluster Headache
What one headline from Munich reveals about Germany a year into the war in Ukraine The 2023 Munich Security Conference produced several significant storylines. In general, Western leaders demonstrated unity …
The Not-so-Sudden Death of Weimar Democracy
January 30, 1933, the day that Reich President Paul von Hindenburg appointed the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler as chancellor of Germany—and a day whose 90th anniversary we marked last month—was …
Self-Assurance—To What End?
Many commentators have concluded that this year’s Munich Security Conference was mostly about the West’s self-assurance. The gathering’s motto (Re:vision) points in a similar direction insomuch as the authors of …
The Evolution of German Citizenship Law
Over the past three decades, German citizenship law has evolved from a largely jus sanguinis (“right of blood”) system with a high bar for naturalization to something closer to jus …
Advocating for the Local Level
Local Government Associations in Germany and the United States In recent years, politics in Germany and the United States were affected by enormous global challenges and crises, such as the …
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Berlin Votes… Again
Observers of German politics often lament the exaggerated attention devoted to state (Land) elections—especially those that do not coincide with a national election. Such regional polls are interpreted as a …
The IRA and the Meaning of “Free Trade”
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) approved by the U.S. Congress last August continues to provoke transatlantic frictions. The European Union has welcomed the climate investments in the IRA that will …
AGI Profiles: Boris Pistorius
Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius currently serves as the German Federal Minister of Defense. Appointed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz on January 17, 2023, Pistorius succeeded Christine Lambrecht following her …
A Transatlantic Approach to Global Technology Standards Competition with China?
Technology Standards as a New Frontier Concerns over China’s growing capabilities in new and emerging technologies are intensifying global competition with traditional technology heavyweights like the United States. American policymakers …
Orbán’s Enablers
German Conservatives and the EU Council’s Unanimity On December 12, 2022, as the first news of Eva Kaili’s arrest and “Qatargate,” the European Parliament’s first major corruption scandal, broke, Hungarian …
Partisan Divides and Popular Fronts
We are pleased to inaugurate the AGI 40th Anniversary series with the following article, which coincides with the 90th anniversary of the Nazi seizure of power (Machtergreifung) when Hitler was appointed chancellor …
The AGI at Forty Series
How the Society, Culture, and Politics Program Has Evolved The American-German Institute at Johns Hopkins University is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Founded during the last stage of the Cold …
