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.
Reset

Why Have Women World Leaders Performed So Well During the COVID-19 Crisis?

In 2019, UN Women reported that a mere 5 percent of heads of government around the world were female.[1] These handful of women, including German chancellor Angela Merkel, have dominated …

Watching Germany IV: Classic Films

This final installment in the AGI “Watching Germany” series is coming (hopefully) toward the end of a long shutdown due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. So, maybe file this for …

Episode 24: German Politics in the Coronavirus Era

Germany and the United States are both grappling with what policies to enact—and for how long—to combat the coronavirus pandemic, and the choices made by political leaders will have political …

Watching Germany III: Recent Films with Contemporary Themes

As the third installment of AGI’s “Watching Germany” series (see television and contemporary films on German history), I am turning to post-reunification films with contemporary themes. There is a multitude …

Watching Germany II: Contemporary Films on German History

Here in Washington, DC, we are into week six of the pandemic shutdown. Universities and public schools will not reopen until the next school year. Regular businesses might only (partially) …

Watching Germany during the Pandemic

As most of us sit, shut-in at home, in the midst of a (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, there are many off hours and nowhere to go. Everyone seems to be watching …

Quo Vadis CDU: Left, Middle, or Right?

When Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK,) the CDU party leader and presumed successor to Angela Merkel as chancellor, announced her resignation from her role as CDU party chairwoman on February 8, 2020, speculation about …

The Unexpected Environmental Consequences of the Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic is killing tens of thousands of people across the world and gravely disrupting life almost everywhere. Much of China has been shut down since January, European countries …

Has the Coronavirus Pandemic Broken the Populist Fever?

One of the biggest challenges that pundits and intellectuals have confronted over the last few years is the rise of right-wing populism across the (western) world. A vigorous debate over …

Lost in Translation: The Meaning of Sanctuary for Immigrants in the U.S. and Germany

The American concept of “sanctuary cities” for asylum seekers is foreign—and somewhat incomprehensible—to Germans. In the United States, “sanctuary jurisdictions” are relatively few, and they are established to protect immigrants …

Lost in Translation: The Meaning of Sanctuary for Immigrants in the U.S. and Germany

Issue Brief 61 The American concept of “sanctuary cities” for asylum seekers is foreign—and somewhat incomprehensible—to Germans. In the United States, “sanctuary jurisdictions” are relatively few, and they are established …