Joschka Fischer on German Leadership, the Refugee Crisis, and Chancellor Merkel
From the Jacques Delors Institute, former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer speaks on the topics that are dominating the discussion in Europe: German leadership, the ongoing migrant crisis, and the …
Guenter Schabowski, East German who announced Berlin Wall opening, dies
Guenter Schabowski, a senior East German official whose cryptic announcement that the communist country was opening its fortified border precipitated the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, died Nov. …
The Next Generation: Remapping the German-American Relationship
Policy Report 63 This year’s Symposium is framed around the idea of “A New Transatlantic Generation.” We know that German-American relations have long been shaped by the personal connections that …
A Natural Aspiration
AGI is pleased to present this collection of essays reflecting on the 25th anniversary of German unification in October 2015. We are grateful to those who have contributed to this …
Facing the Future: Germany and the U.S. in a Transforming World
Those who remember the heady days of 1989 in Europe will recall a breathtakingly fast pace of change. The chain of events in Eastern Europe seemed like a volcanic eruption of citizens and governments—an eruption that would change the contours of the continent in ways many had hoped for, but few expected in their lifetimes. In retrospect, it was in large measure set in motion by ordinary citizens who changed the course of history. The ripples of those days are still being felt today—a quarter of a century later.
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Support Our WorkGerman Unification and European Security
How has German unity impacted the U.S. in terms of its policies and its expectations of Germany as part of that evolving Europe in which it has become so critically important? How have the following years impacted the shaping of U.S. foreign policy, its goals, and its application? What expectations emerged about the global role of the U.S. and our expectations of a unified Germany? The questions above are the ones on which AICGS has asked commentators in this series to reflect upon as the 25th anniversary of the unification of Germany approaches on October 3. They are all significant questions but, given the space constraints, I would like to limit this brief comment to one particular aspect on which I have some modest expertise: the extensive overlap between the process that yielded German unification and the process that yielded expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
United Germany at 25
When Germany’s leaders gather on October 3 for the 25th anniversary of German unification, they will celebrate the progress they have made in integrating the eastern and western parts of the country and will likely also speak of the work still to be done in the ongoing process of unification. If last year’s festivities surrounding the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall are any indication, they will also praise the courageous East Germans for their Peaceful Revolution of 1989-90 and draw attention to the vast changes people in the east have experienced in transitioning into a very different system in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Refugee Realities: Between Bridges and Boundaries
Just as she marks the tenth anniversary of her tenure as chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel is confronted with a crisis—one whose magnitude diminishes others she has encountered over the …
Germans Continue to Lead in the Response to the Migration Crisis
As reported by The Washington Post, Germans, “to a far greater extent than the British, the French or others, have opened their hearts — and wallets. According to a poll commissioned …
Anti-Corruption in Germany
Germany has traditionally been seen as a country where corruption is under control. This was further supported when Transparency International (TI), the largest and most prominent anti-corruption NGO, published its …
“Grief” and “Remorse” Mark Japanese Remarks on the Anniversary of the End of World War II
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s statement last Friday on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II expressed “feelings of profound grief” and his condolences for those who …
Eyeing Business Opportunities in Iran: Germany Caught between China and the U.S.
Days after the announcement of the historic nuclear deal with Iran, German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel found himself in Tehran, with a delegation …
