Some Contentious Issues for 2016
Ukraine and EU Sanctions against Russia The European consensus for maintaining Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia is beginning to unravel. In addition to the economic costs of sanctions to European industry …
Europe Must Save Itself
Former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer is right: The European project is in trouble. In a recent article in Sueddeutsche Zeitung he even fears that a European suicide is a …
Helmut Schmidt
At 96 years of age, Helmut Schmidt, former Chancellor of Germany and respected elder statesman, passed away on 10 November 2015, in Hamburg. He had been active in the German …
William G. Gray Receives DAAD Prize in German and European Studies
Congratulations to Dr. William G. Gray of Purdue University, the recipient of the 2015 DAAD Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in German and European Studies, for his outstanding academic work in …
Merkel and Hollande Address European Parliament
In recent years, as Europe has confronted crisis after crisis, we have seen the importance of German leadership, and of integrating that leadership into a community of nations working toward …
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Support Our WorkGuenter 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. …
Redefining What It Means To Be German
The fall of the Iron Curtain and the onset of German unification in 1990 brought hopes that Europe would quickly come to enjoy an unprecedented “peace dividend,” coupled with unparalleled …
The Migration Crisis: A Test to the Union
Germany is a nervous country right now—nervous about what can go wrong. But it is also a moment in which Germany has to demonstrate leadership in its own interests and …
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.
Playing the European Power Game
Germany, united: In 1989, the people of Berlin celebrated the collapse of the Berlin Wall after over 40 years of division. A breathtaking year later, Germany stood on the international stage as a unified country embarking on a new journey to rediscover and redefine its role in international relations.
A United Germany at 25
Twenty-five years on, it is hard for many to remember that nothing about German unification was preordained. Leaders at the time seized an extraordinary moment and created new realities on the ground. The twenty-fifth anniversary of Germany’s unification gives us the chance to remember and celebrate the remarkable outcome. Those reflections should also inspire us to look for opportunities today to make our world better.
Immigration Developments
As the influx of migrants making the strenuous trip to Europe continues, it is becoming obvious that if Europe as whole does not agree on a unified solution, it will …
