The Euro: How to Know When We’re There
Unfortunately for the euro zone crisis, last week’s EU summit appears to have produced yet another underwhelming plan. According to Dr. Stephen Silvia, Associate Professor at the School of International Service at American University, Europe’s leaders once again failed to address any of the major problems that still ail the euro zone economies. At the core of any plan, argues Dr. Silvia, should be an attempt to make the euro zone an “optimal currency area.”
SPD – Back to the Future with Helmut Schmidt
Elmar Sulk, Senior Strategist at Lincoln Park – Public Relations, analyzes last week’s SPD party convention, including the impassioned speech by former chancellor Helmut Schmidt. According to Mr. Sulk, with the FDP reeling in polls throughout Germany, the SPD may once again be a part of Germany’s governing coalition in 2013 – with a little help from the former “party heroes”.
2012: Between Doom and Hope
Alexander Privitera looks ahead to what we might expect for the continuation of the euro zone crisis in 2012. According to Mr. Privitera, while we may not witness a great start to the New Year, there is reason to believe things could change for the better.
Draghi to the Rescue
Alexander Privitera examines the new head of the ECB, Mario Draghi, since he took the helm of the Frankfurt based central bank. According the Mr. Privitera, Draghi has indeed acted boldly, but continues to stand firm in his decision to not allow the ECB to become the lender of last resort. Mr. Draghi is growing increasingly impatient with Europe’s leaders and expects them to finally act on their promises.
The Beginning of the End of the Road? Britain and the European Council meeting, 8/9 December 2011
What will the outcome of last week’s EU summit mean for the future of the UK’s position within the Union? According to Dr. Simon Green, Professor of Politics at Aston University, UK, it could spell disaster for Britain in the single market of the EU. In his essay entitled The Beginning of the End of the Road? Britain and the European Council meeting, 8/9 December 2011, originally published in Aston University’s Aston Centre for Europe blog, Dr. Green explains that Prime Minster David Cameron’s decision to exclude the UK from the EU’s new intergovernmental pact will alienate the UK from the Union more than ever before.
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Support Our WorkA New Dawn, or Just a New Phase of the Crisis?
Another EU summit, another plan to solve the debt crisis that fails to calm market fears. In his essay A New Dawn, or Just a New Phase of the Crisis?, Alexander Privitera, Washington-based Special Correspondent for the German news channel N24, examines the current state of the sovereign debt crisis following last week’s EU summit. According to Mr. Privitera, Angela Merkel’s continued unwillingness to openly discuss some of the proposed top options for solving the crisis is only fueling market concerns over the euro.
Heroine or Villain?
Following this week’s summit in Washington between U.S. and EU officials, it has become increasingly clear that only one actor truly has the ability to lead any solution to the debt crisis: Germany’s Angela Merkel. In his essay Heroine or Villain?, Alexander Privitera, Washington-based Special Correspondent for the German news channel N24 and frequent AICGS contributor, examines Chancellor Merkel’s actions in dealing with the crisis and lays out her available options.
Of Cakes and Their Consumption – Reflections on the UK’s Position within the EU
UK Prime Minister David Cameron may be in for a not so warm welcome in his visit to Berlin this week. According to his essay “Of Cakes and their Consumption – Reflections on the UK’s Position within the EU,” Dr. Simon Green, Professor of Politics at Aston University, UK, and a frequent contributor to the AICGS Advisor, argues that EU member states are becoming increasingly frustrated with the UK’s approach toward the Union. What is said this weekend between Prime Minister Cameron and Chancellor Merkel could signal whether the UK is already being pushed to the periphery of the EU.
Neo-Nazi Terror: Ein Angriff auf die Demokratie, ein Versagen der Politik
Die Morde des „Nationalsozialistischen Untergrunds“ und die völlige Ahnungslosigkeit der Sicherheitsbehörden erschüttern Deutschland. Diese Verbrechen sind weit mehr als ein Akt von Kriminellen mit politischen Motiven. Dass rund 60 Jahre …
Neo-Nazi Terror: An Attack on Democracy, a Failure of Policy
How did a right-wing terrorist group operate in Germany for thirteen years without being detected? In his essay entitled Neo-Nazi Terror: An Attack on Democracy, a Failure of Policy, Dr. Heiko Holste, Visiting Scholar at the BMW Center for German and European Studies at Georgetown University, looks at the failures of German intelligence in stopping the extremist group known as the “National Socialist Underground” and the government’s underestimation of neo-Nazi groups in Germany.
From Ron Arad to Gilad Shalit: Germany’s Role in the Middle Eastern Prisoner Exchanges
On October 18th, 2011, after five years in captivity, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released by Hamas in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. Behind the negotiations between Israel and Hamas stood an unexpected third party: Germany. In his essay From Ron Arad to Gilad Shalit: Germany’s Role in the Middle Eastern Prisoner Exchanges, Dr. Guido Steinberg, Researcher at the Division for Middle East and Africa at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik and a terrorism advisor in the German Federal Chancellor’s Office from 2002 to 2005, examines the history of German mediation in the long line of prisoner swaps in the Middle East.
The Emerging Market Syndrome that is Germany
In her essay entitiled The Emerging Market Syndrome that is Germany, Dr. Waltraud Schelkle, AICGS Non-Resident Fellow and Lecturer in Political Economy at the London School of Economics, argues that Germany is currently suffering from having the economic make-up of an emerging market country. In Dr. Schelkle’s opinion, this is hurting the way that Germany is dealing with solutions to the current economic crisis.
