Mars vs. Mercury: Germany, America, and the Global Order
Germany and America: Two Reluctant Pivotal Powers Germany and the United States rank as the two most influential and powerful Western liberal nations in a world challenged by the rise …
Safe as Houses: Comparing Housing Finance Policies in the U.S. and Germany
The recent financial crisis demonstrated that housing is a key sector of the U.S. economy, with the potential to bring down the entire global economy. The crisis also recast the …
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 …
After the Wall: Survivors’ Expectations
There were many expectations when the Wall came down. Not least among them that Holocaust survivors living in Eastern Europe would finally receive payments from Germany for their suffering. But …
November 1989
Like December 7, 1941, November 22, 1963, and September 11, 2001, November 9, 1989, is one of those dates remembered in freeze frame. But it’s the rare exception that most …
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Broken Berlin Wall, by Tom Block
Visitors to AGI may be familiar with Tom Block’s art installation, “Broken Berlin Wall.” The artwork will continue to be on display for the 25th anniversary of the fall of …

Beyond Spying: How to Save the U.S.-German Alliance
While Washington fumbled the NSA clash with Germany, Berlin too has had a hand in stoking the heated debate over U.S. surveillance programs. Public denunciations and empty promises of retaliation …
Saxonian Signals: The Future of the FDP and AfD After Saxony’s Election
The state election in Saxony on Sunday made some waves in Germany. While the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) was able to sustain its leadership of the state, despite its worst …

Rebuilding the Relationship: The Undeniable Ties Between the United States and Germany
In the wake of the recent espionage scandal, it is time for the U.S. and Germany to start cleaning up the damage and rebuild the relationship. Geopolitical hotheads on both …
Setting the Stage for a U.S.-German Partnership Befitting the Twenty-First Century
Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Barack Obama were right to pull the plug on the emotional debate over intelligence gathering and task their chiefs of staff, Peter Altmaier and Denis …
The Death Knells of Centrist German Liberalism-The Rise of the AfD and fall of the FDP
The rapid growth of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Germany has certainly been a clear departure from the mood of German politics prior to the most recent Bundeswahl (Federal …

Dealing with Distrust: A German-American Dilemma
The Germans are once again angry with Washington. News stories about an alleged mole in Germany’s intelligence services, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), providing state secrets to Americans has outraged the entire …