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

Twenty-five Years after the Fall of the Wall

When history was about to turn the corner at the end of the 1980s and German unification shot to the top of the international agenda, not everybody was cheering. British …

The Miracle of Leipzig

This is a story about the secret of freedom—courage.  Germans in Leipzig courageously faced down a regime that had killed fellow citizens, whose only crime was to seek freedom and …

Germany’s Precarious Path to Leadership

There were several milestones in October that reminded Germans and non-Germans again how much the past twenty-five years have changed the Federal Republic of Germany. While October 3 is the …

Freedom Cannot Be Taken for Granted

In the fall of 1989, I studied at the Karl-Marx-University in Leipzig. As a student of theology, I was able to participate in the demonstrations on the street as well …

Eine neue Phase der Russland- und Ostpolitik hat begonnen

Langfristiges Ziel sollte nach wie vor eine gesamteuropäische Friedensordnung unter Einschluss Russlands bleiben. Allerdings haben sich mit den autoritären Entwicklungen in der russischen Innenpolitik, der Abwendung der russischen Führung von …

A New Phase of Russia and Ostpolitik Has Begun

This article is a translation of the original version in German. To read the German version of this article, click here. A pan-European peace order including Russia should still remain …

From Kobane to Celle

The serene town of Celle is home to 70,000 people in the state of Lower Saxony, more than 3,000 of which are Kurdish Yazidis. This town is mostly known for …

Regional Institution-Building in Asia: Are There Any Lessons from Europe?

For many in the international media and among casual observers of Asia, regional institution-building may appear a mundane subject. Strengthening existing regional institutions, or establishing a more substantive one, is …

Germany: The Geopolitical Uncertainties of a Geo-Economic Power

For the first time, “Transatlantic Trends,” a survey of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) beginning in 2002, showed that a majority of Germans now prefer a …

Relevancy of Apprenticeships

During our apprenticeship tour of Germany, France, and the UK, I was impressed at the respect that the general population held for apprenticeship programs. One of our taxi drivers in …

Who Is an Apprentice?

While our focus in Europe has been on the broad structure of apprenticeship systems, we should not lose sight of the apprentices themselves. Many times we have been told “no …

Apprenticeship Loyalty in Hannover

Today we went to the MMBbS, an information technology and media vocational training school two hours south of Berlin by train, and learned about the school that was built on …