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”.
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.
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.
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.
Leadership and Democracy
As the political mindset in Europe begins to change – both among the newly appointed Greek and Italian Prime minsters, or among the incumbent Merkel and Sarkozy – the questioning of each leader’s commitment to Europe will only increase. According to his essay Leadership and Democracy, Alexander Privitera, Washington based Special Correspondent for the German news channel N24 and frequent AICGS contributor, explains that all European leaders are approaching the point at which they will have to make very unpopular decisions. In particular, Angela Merkel could be tested very soon.
Recent Authors
AGI provides knowledge, insights, and networks as tools to solve the challenges ahead.
Support Our Work50 Years After: What Germany and Turkey Need is a State Treaty
In his essay 50 Years After: What Germany and Turkey Need is a State Treaty, Rana Deep Islam, Ph.D. student at Erlangen University and former DAAD/AICGS Fellow, reflects on the current state of German citizens with a Turkish background following the 50th anniversary of the guest workers agreement between Germany and Turkey. According to Mr. Islam, while German politics have been slow to fully welcome Turkish integration, Berlin must act quickly to forge stronger ties with Ankara.
Deutschlands Außenpolitik aus europäischer Perspektive
Could Germany be holding Europe back from presenting a clear-cut foreign policy? In a commentary originally published with the Körber Stiftung entitled Deutschlands Außenpolitik aus europäischer Perspektive, Dr. Ulrich Speck, …
Is Europe’s Troubled Marriage Doomed?
In his essay Is Europe’s Troubled Marriage Doomed?, Stefan Theil, Newsweek’s Berlin Bureau Chief and AICGS contributor, analyzes the effects of the divide between Europe’s states to the north and those to south on the ongoing debt crisis. By also explaining the euro zone crisis in an American context, he looks to build an understanding of how the crisis started, as well as what it could mean for the feeble U.S. economic recovery.
Nightmare in Rome
Will Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resign as promised, and if so, what will become of Italy in his wake? Born and raised in Rome, Alexander Privitera, Washington based Special Correspondent for the German news channel N24 and frequent AICGS contributor, attempts to explain what the likely scenario could be if, and when, Berlusconi steps down in his essay Nightmare in Rome. Having witnessed his rise to power in the 90s, Mr. Privitera argues that Prime Minster Berlusconi’s fall from power will lead Italy down a tough and uncertain road.
The EU Emissions Trading System and the Upcoming Inclusion of the Aviation Sector
While the aviation sector had been exempt from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), in January 2012 the EU ETS will be expanded to fully include international flights arriving at or departing from an EU airport. This AICGS Spotlight provides background information on the issue, implications for Germany, the United States, and transatlantic relations as well as potential future development.
Polish Perspectives
Following a visit to Warsaw, Executive Director Jack Janes discusses relations between Poland and both Germany and the U.S., as well as the changes in Europe which have placed Poland into an increasingly important role.
The Right Thing
In this week’s At Issue, Dr. Jackson Janes discusses the agenda around the G-20 meeting in Cannes, the role of the U.S., and the struggle to find the “right” responses to challenges on both sides of the Atlantic.
