AGI

Memory Politics

Germany’s approach to acknowledging and providing redress for past crimes has offered other nations around the world a guide to reconciliation. While Germany’s efforts resulted from a unique situation and are not considered a blueprint for other nations to emulate, they have nevertheless informed and impacted other countries dealing with the difficult processes of memory, commemoration, and rebuilding bilateral relationships.
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The Dynamics of Collective Memory and German Foreign Policy Since Unification

Policy Report 57 In this Policy Report, Ruth Wittlinger, Senior Lecturer in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, UK and former DAAD/AGI fellow, discusses the extent …

Shaping Transatlantic Solutions: Challenges of the 2012 and 2013 Elections

The U.S. elections in 2012 and the German elections in 2013 demonstrate that, despite their geographic distance, the two countries are confronted by both similar and shared problems: debt crises, …

Receiving Reconciliation? Invitations from German Cities to Jewish Refugees of National Socialism in the United States

“I don’t have anything to do with Germany anymore, other than the few times that I went there. And that’s very funny, because the first time, my friend who went …

The Impact of Textbook Diplomacy: Refraining from a Too Narrow Assessment

Along with official state apology, financial reparations for victims, and truth commissions, international textbook activities have been a core symbol of reconciliation since the end of World War II. The …

German Unity Day: President Gauck Speaks on Freedom

Marking twenty-three years of one Germany, President Joachim Gauck emphasized German citizens’ and policymakers’ responsibilities both domestically and internationally during his speech in Stuttgart on October 3, 2013. This speech …

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The Official German Commitment to Fighting Anti-Semitism

Budapest On May 6, 2013, in a major speech to the World Jewish Congress in Budapest, German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle continued an official German tradition. Like German foreign ministers …

The Franco-German Elysée Treaty at Fifty: A Model for Others?

The fiftieth anniversary of the 1963 Elysée Treaty provides occasion for reflection on the larger meaning of this landmark for Franco-German relations, but also raises the question of whether its …

An Exercise in External Reconciliation

With the EU accepting its Peace and Reconciliation Nobel Prize, it is worth a look at an example of the EU using its reconciliation experience, specifically  in the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This essay …

Who Can Lead the Change?

“Comfort women,” the Dokdo/Takeshima islands, and the Yasukuni shrine are the Achilles’ heel of South Korean-Japanese relations. Recurring for decades, the clashes over history issues this year have taken a …

Domestic Structures in Germany and Japan and Their Influence on Reconciliation Policy

Comparing reconciliation politics of different states helps us to understand better the reasons why reconciliation, i.e., the process of normalization of bilateral relations after conflict between former perpetrator and victim …