AGI

Foreign & Security Policy

The AGI Foreign & Security Policy Program addresses German security policy, the foreign policy cooperation between the U.S. and Germany, and the transatlantic defense relationship.
Reset

The New Head of Germany’s Foreign Intelligence Agency BND: A Noticeable Shift in Germany’s Internal Security Policy

Quite surprisingly, last Wednesday the German Chancellery confirmed the removal of Gerhard Schindler as president of the German Foreign Intelligence Agency (Bundesnachrichtendienst, BND). Schindler will be officially replaced by Bruno …

Europe’s New Political Engine: Germany’s role in the EU’s foreign and security policy

A new report from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs looks at Germany’s role in European foreign and security policy, asking how dominant Germany has become within the EU.  It features analysis …

The Obama Security Strategy and Beyond: Implications for Germany and Europe

Barack Obama’s final year in office is one with the world in upheaval. It is also the year that will shape the security strategy for the next U.S. president. This …

Obama’s Farewell Tour

Eight years ago, we watched an American rock star perform on a hot summer day in Berlin. That he was also a young, black politician seemed a revelation to the …

Privacy Shield for U.S. Data Transfers: Back to the Drawing Board

The European Commission may need to revise the draft proposal to meet the concerns expressed by the Article 29 Working Party. On 29 February 2016, the European Commission published a …

Transatlantic Traffic Jams

When the hundreds of government officials and international organization leaders make their way to Washington for the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group, an explosion of …

Chief Facilitator: The Legacy of Hans-Dietrich Genscher

The passing of Hans-Dietrich Genscher marks another milestone in the unique history of the leadership of the Federal Republic of Germany. His life and career embody the path of the …

Genscher and Genscherism

The career and success of Hans-Dietrich Genscher, who died at age 89 on March 30, illustrate the strength of continuity in office. Such continuity has long been a feature of …

Hans-Dietrich Genscher: A Life of Longing for Stability

The resounding response from the press to the death of Hans-Dietrich Genscher reminds us of how much German political equilibrium depends on the existence of central, idealized, larger-than-life figures.  Mr. …

Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Remembrance of a German Statesman

Hans-Dietrich Genscher was German foreign minister when I first met him.  On 1 October 1982, I was in Bonn to consult with Wolfgang Ischinger, his office director.  Our meeting was …

Hans-Dietrich Genscher: Recollections

Hans-Dietrich Genscher’s impact on politics in Germany did not begin with foreign policy but in domestic politics and that is where I met him first. As Minister of the Interior …

LGBT Refugees: Perpetuated Persecution in Asylum

Life as an asylum seeker is not an easy one.  Having faced persecution and violence in their home countries and uprooted their entire lives, these migrants face political, socioeconomic, and …