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The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism: German vs. American Responses

Anti-Semitism in Germany Germany has a rocky history with anti-Semitism—to say the least. After WWII, reconciliation with Jewish populations became a large part of Germany’s foreign and domestic policy, and …

Setting Foreign Policy Priorities in an Era of Political Polarization

As part of the 2018 Munich Security Conference, AGI was pleased to cohost a breakfast program with the American Council on Germany.  The theme of the discussion was “Setting Foreign Policy …

Does Pyeongchang Lead to Pyeonghwa?

For the first time in history, the world will witness a match in which North and South Korean athletes compete together against Japan. As symbolic as it may be, the …

Do We Still Need “the West”?

Diagnoses of a “crisis” in transatlantic relations often raise questions about the future of “the West.” Over the last fifteen years, pundits and scholars have discussed a possible “end of …

To Be or Not to Be a Woman…in Germany or the U.S.?

Since accusations of sexual assault and harassment by prominent Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein have surfaced, different segments of society, both in the U.S. and Germany, have had to grapple with …

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. …

Encouraging German-American Youth Exchange through Film

How to keep young Americans interested in Germany is one of the key questions in maintaining solid U.S.-German relations for future generations to come. The nature of the asymmetric relationship …

Germany’s New Role…Like It or Not

Germany has become the “leader of the free world.” It didn’t ask for the role and it doesn’t want it, but it was thrust upon Germany by the sheer lack …

Populism: Signals and Noises

Yogi Berra once said that it’s very difficult to predict anything—especially the future. But when you are trying to face that task the biggest challenge is to ask the right …

From the AGI Bookshelf: What Is Populism?

With the ripple effect of Donald Trump’s election still being felt not only in the U.S., but all over the world, many are scrambling to find explanations for how that …

Donald Trump – Aggravator or Catalyzer of the European Crises?

This text was originally presented at a public lecture at the  University of Pretoria, South Africa, on February 15, 2017. Introduction One might reasonably ask what is actually special about …

Principle, Policy, and Purpose: The Balance of Values and Interests

The American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once stated that the essence of statecraft is locating the point of concurrence between the parochial and the general interest, between the national and international common good.[1] Niebuhr emphasizes that realism implies an obligation to see the world as it actually is, not as we might like it to be. He warned that hubris can blind realism, finding expression in outsized confidence in both the power as well as the values of a country as being universal. Any country is susceptible to such temptations.