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

Herero Activists in the United States: Demanding Recognition and Reparation for the First Genocide of the Twentieth Century

Between 1904 and 1908, over 100 000 people were killed in the first genocide of the twentieth century.[1]  Only 20 percent of the Herero and about 50 percent of the …

Harnessing the Power of Civil Society

In 2012, the short documentary “Kony 2012” by the NGO Invisible Children created a social media blitz and massive public support for intervention against the warlord Joseph Kony in Uganda. …

Exploring Immigration and Integration Initiatives in the United States

AGI Minority Exchange Program The German-American youth exchange program on the theme “Immigration, Integration, and a New Transatlantic Generation” is an innovative program which establishes new connections between communities that …

Records of Shanghai: One Man’s Quest to Validate Memories of a Family’s Refugee Past

Eric Kisch is a historian.  Although he does not hold a Ph.D. and made a comfortable living as a market researcher, he is a historian nonetheless.  The signs are all …

Art and Reconciliation: Beyond the Borders

Relations between Asian countries are influenced by historical consciousness. The expression of that consciousness, which is extremely politicized in Asia, plays an important role in building or destroying modern relationships.

Securing the National Interests: The United States and Japanese-South Korean Reconciliation

The reconciliation process in Northeast Asia, notably between Japan and South Korea (Republic of Korea), is still far from being a success story. The governments of the two states have …

Documenting German and Japanese War Crimes prior to 1945: The UN War Crimes Commission

Dan Plesch’s new book, Human Rights after Hitler: The Lost History of Prosecuting Axis War Crimes, sheds light on the existence of a little-known agency founded amid the atrocities of …

Working for Reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians: The Example of Friendship Across Borders

Working for reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians is arduous but rewarding—it keeps providing glimmers of hope in a situation that often seems beyond hopeless politically, motivating us to persevere. …

From Kristallnacht and Back: Searching for Meaning in the History of the Shanghai Jews

When the Jews sought refuge from the Nazi regime, they were most often met with hatred and indifference. Most of the world closed its doors on the Jews, and, for …

A Grassroots Movement for the Transatlantic Partnership

The transatlantic partnership is currently in a state of uncertainty. Not only the transition from President Obama to President Trump, but also the populist eruption in many European countries reflects …

Immigration, Integration, and a New Transatlantic Generation: Giving Voice to Diversity

German-American Issues 20 AGI is pleased to present two essays from the second round of the AGI New Transatlantic Exchange Program: Giving Voice to Diversity. This innovative program establishes new …

Civil Society Can Provide Needed Climate Leadership

The United States is fast abandoning leadership of the liberal world order. The withdrawal of the U.S. from the recently negotiated and signed Paris Agreement is the latest self-inflicted wound. …