Ukraine Crisis Threatens to Derail German Ostpolitik
The new government made improving relations with Russia one of its foreign policy priorities. The coalition agreement devoted an entire page to this theme and put it immediately after the …
German Foreign and Defense Policy Handbook
The September 2013 Bundestag election resulted in a third term for Chancellor Angela Merkel, and her second Grand Coalition. On the eve of Chancellor Merkel’s visit to Washington, AGI is …
Status of Foreign Deployments
Germany has about 4,900 military personnel deployed in multinational peace support operations. Mandates for these deployments must be approved by the Bundestag and are usually limited to a period of …
European Integration and the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy
With the election behind her, Chancellor Merkel has been more outspoken in support of further European integration. In the new government’s declaration to the Bundestag on 29 January, she said …
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
German development policy is an independent area of German foreign policy formulated by the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). However, aid to developing countries is increasingly linked to …
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Support Our WorkRussia’s New Challenge to Europe
As it becomes clear that Russia is forging a new geopolitical landscape in Eastern Europe, Europe and the United States have grappled with the question of their response to this …
German/U.S. Data Transfers: Crucial for Both Economies, Difficult to Regain Trust
Issue Brief 46 There has been a heated transatlantic debate on cyber issues since Edward Snowden’s release of classified National Security Agency (NSA) documents last year that described various surveillance …
What is at Stake in Ukraine
The next steps in dealing with the crisis in Ukraine will be as much of a challenge for Europe and the United States as they are for Russia and Ukraine. …

Putin’s Predicament: What is to be done?
Vladimir Putin is tracking another Vladimir—this one with the last name Lenin—who published a pamphlet in 1902 called “What Is to Be Done: Burning Questions of Our Movement.” That Vladimir …
Outgunned and Without Friends
“To be in this government is to commit political suicide,” said Arseniy Yatsenyuk as he became Ukraine’s emergency prime minister seven weeks ago. That was just after Viktor Yanukovych’s riot …
On Morality and Mistakes
It is quite impressive, surrealistic even, that while the Kremlin is amassing 40,000 troops in southwestern Russia, close to the Ukrainian border, and sending unidentified military or paramilitary troops to …