British Referendum Pains and the EU Implications of BREXIT
On 23 June 2016, should a majority of British voters decide to leave the EU—nearly forty-five years after joining the Community—the EU would lose 17 percent of its GDP and …
From the AGI Bookshelf: Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning
Timothy Snyder’s latest book, Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning, presents exactly those two narratives. His review of how the Holocaust emerged and evolved has been and remains …
The Refugee Crisis Confronts Germany’s Society with Three Major Challenges
The dominant theme of this year’s discussions is that of refugees. Factual debates have turned into power issues now. Who will win the fight about the implementation of “ceilings” for …
A Party System in Flux
Coalition governments in Germany have a long tradition, though more so at the federal level (where there have always been coalitions) than at the state level. These two or more party coalitions are as a rule not desired, but are generally forced by the election results or determined by the strength of the political groups after the election.
Germans Go To The Polls
While many Americans were focused on the primaries underway in the U.S., on March 13, Germans in three states went to the polls to elect their state governments. The first …
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Support Our WorkState Elections as a Celebration of Democracy
Refugees decided the weekend’s state elections. The refugee politics were the 2016 power issue in competition between parties. All three incumbents were confirmed as minister-president in Rheinland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, and Saxony-Anhalt, because they have showcased superior competence in the face of epochal challenges.
Super Sunday Was Not Black Sunday
In spite of the wide-spread, largely foreign, media reaction to the three state elections, the sky did not fall on March 13. Chancellor Merkel’s unprecedented decision to welcome over one …
Landtagswahlen als Feste der Demokratie
Englische Version Flüchtlinge haben die Landtagswahlen vom Wochenende entschieden. Die Flüchtlingspolitik markiert 2016 die Machtfrage im Parteienwettbewerb. Alle drei Amtsinhaber wurden in Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Württemberg, Sachsen-Anhalt als Ministerpräsidenten bestätigt, weil sie …
Ein Parteiensystem im Umbruch
Koalitionsregierungen haben in Deutschland eine langeTradition, mehr noch auf der Bundesebene (dort gab es bisher keine andere Form der Regierung) als auf der Landesebene. Diese Zwei-oder Mehrfachkoalitionen sind in der Regel keine Wunschkoalitionen, sondern durch das Wahlergebnis erzwungen beziehungsweise durch die Stärke der Fraktionen nach der Wahl bestimmt.
It’s Not All About Refugees: Five Lessons from Germany’s Super Sunday
Last Sunday, three German Bundesländer—Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saxony-Anhalt—held their state elections. The federal states themselves are very diverse. The first is one of Germany’s most industrialized powerhouses and governed by …
Looking for Leadership, German Voters Send a Signal
Chancellor Merkel may not be very happy with the results of Sunday’s state elections in Germany, but she is not any worse off than she was on Saturday. That is …
Capability, Reciprocity, and Luck
With a mixture of capability, reciprocity, and pure luck, Germany has so far avoided a Jihadi terrorist attack (with the exception of a “lone wolf” killing of two American soldiers …