Dealing with a Violent Past and Reconciliation as a Challenge for Policymakers and Civil Society Actions Experience from the Church’s Reconciliation Work between Germans and Poles
Twenty-five years after the Kohl-Mazowiecki meetings and joint mass that inaugurated “official” German-Polish reconciliation after 1989, German-Polish reconciliation is viewed as an instructive example both in Europe (Polish-Ukrainian relations) and East Asia (Japanese-Korean relations).
The Russian Challenge: Beyond the Double Track
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s speech in Brisbane following the G20 meeting made headlines for two main reasons: for publicly confronting Putin in the toughest manner to date, and for signaling the …
The Swiss Apprenticeship System: Its Institutional Specificities and Strengths in International Perspective
If the U.S. aims to learn from the Swiss experience, it should seek ways to improve the reputation of work-based training programs through better linking the vocational and academic worlds of learning.
The Policy Trap: Is the Euro Crisis Back?
Now in the second half of 2014, the European economy has hit a rough patch, triggering renewed anxiety among policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic. Economists and politicians are …
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 …
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Support Our WorkWho 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 …
Can Germany Reconcile the Western Balkans?
In April 2013, Serbia and Kosovo signed an agreement that enabled a rapprochement between the two sides, including an understanding that they will not block each other’s bid for European …
The Katyn Massacre: Half a Century of Lies and the Search for Truth
Borrowing institutionally from the German-Polish case, Polish-Russian reconciliation had been making small, tentative steps until the crisis in and over Ukraine. There is some effort to continue civil society interaction, …
First Impressions of French Apprenticeships
As part of the AGI site visit tour, my colleagues and I spent our first day in Paris getting an in-depth view of the French apprenticeship system. We started off at …
Post-Soviet Apprenticeship
After the hustle and bustle of the capital city, our train passed through the countryside. Small family farms with goats abutted a busy railway. Our destination also lay in between …
2009 and 2014: Reflections
Time flies. I am struck by how recent the events of the twentieth anniversary of the Mauerfall feel. A rainy, but magical, memory. At first blush, 2009 seems a more …
Trading French Reform for German Investment: A Win-Win for Berlin and the Eurozone
As economic growth in Germany falls short and French prospects begin looking up, now is the time for a new Grand Bargain over debt and reform in the Euro Zone. AICGS Non-Resident Fellow Peter Rashish details the impact of French President Francois Hollande’s recent successes in economic reform, including removing left-wing cabinet members from office.



