AGI

Society, Culture & Politics

The AGI Society, Culture & Politics Program focuses on crucial topics within the German-American dialogue, including: demographic change, migration/integration, and aging societies; electoral politics at the national, state, and European levels, and comparative analysis of Germany and the United States; diversity within Germany, Europe, and the United States; the politics of collective memory and identity, Holocaust remembrance and reconciliation, and shifting conceptions of national identity that shape perspectives and policy responses.
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The Surprising Reincarnation of the German Left Party

It was Mark Twain who allegedly claimed that rumors of his death had been greatly exaggerated. The leaders of Germany’s Left Party (Die Linke) don’t quite have Twain’s name recognition, …

Episode 122: The German Bundestag Election Results

Shortly after the polls closed in Germany, Jeff Rathke, Eric Langenbacher, and Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger discussed the results of the snap elections. They give their reactions to the performance of the …

The End of Modell Deutschland?

It has become abundantly clear that both the United States and Germany are going through their own versions of a Zeitenwende. Marc Fischer points out how both countries have been …

AGI Profiles: Markus Frohnmaier

Member of the Bundestag; AfD State Chairman in Baden Württemberg In January 2025, local Alternative for Germany (AfD) party members in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, placed fake Abschiebetickets—one-way deportation flight tickets—in the …

Some Small-Town Reflections on Catechism 2.0

When it came to German memory, the language of Dirk Moses’s initial contribution to what subsequently became the so-called Catechism debate was replete with references to a priestly cast, priestly …

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A Guide to German Party Election Platforms 2025

Christian Democratic Union (CDU): “Policy Change for Germany” Campaign Platform Foreign Policy and Security Continue support for Ukraine and Israel. Commit to NATO’s 2 percent defense goal. Strengthen transatlantic partnerships, …

Holocaust Memory after Gaza

Toward a New Epistemology of the Minority Question How does one intervene in “the Catechism Debate” when it has caused such polemics? Dirk Moses’ piece “The German Catechism” was published …

The Far-Right Vorfeld and Its Ideological Influence on the AfD

Compared to other contemporary German parties, the Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD) is profoundly influenced by external actors operating outside its formal institutional structure. This dynamic reflects the …

Episode 120: The Issues Driving German Politics One Month from the Bundestag Election

With the German elections slated for February 23, Member of the Bundestag Omid Nouripour, a former national co-chairman of the Green Party, joins The Zeitgeist to discuss the issues shaping the campaign. …

The German Reason of State as State Anti-Semitism

In an article published online in March 2024, the historian Andrew Port wrote about “Germany, Gaza, and Genocide.” He summarized what he called the “postcolonial catechism” critique of official German …

A Zeitenwende for Whom?

German Colonial Memory and Epistemic Barriers On November 21, 2024, The Namibian, Namibia’s leading English-language newspaper, reported that the ongoing negotiations between Namibia and Germany over compensation for the genocide …

Episode 119: Voter Volatility and Political Stagnation

Germany votes for a new parliament on February 23. While the center-right Christian Democrats maintain a lead in the polls, the three parties of Olaf Scholz’s outgoing “traffic light” coalition …

Addressing Germany’s Medical Personnel Shortage

The Untapped Potential of Physician Assistants Germany is grappling with a significant shortage of medical personnel that is likely to be exacerbated by an aging population of doctors and increasing …