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Recapping Obama’s European Tour Part II

President Obama’s recent swing through Europe rekindled much of the positive energy that accompanied his election – despite some increasingly thorny issues that had to be discussed. Whether or not Obama can turn this goodwill into practical results on a range of issues, however, remains to be seen. This section features essays from Jan Techau, Kurt Volker, Daniel Fata, and Dr. Jackson Janes, all of whom focus on the long-term implications for transatlantic relations in the wake of the trip.

Above the Fray No More

For the United States, there is much to fear from Europe’s debt crisis but not much it can do, writes Bruce Stokes of The National Journal, a regular contributor to the Advisor. Washington has a huge financial stake in the taming of the euro crisis, Stokes argues, but the tools that exist to limit the damage are very limited. This article originally appeared in the May 28, 2011, edition of The National Journal.

The President’s European Tour #9

In this week’s At Issue, Executive Director Dr. Jackson Janes looks at President Obama’s upcoming trip to Europe and examines the projected benefits, purposes, and expectations attached to a week in Ireland, the UK, France, and Poland.

Recapping Obama’s European Tour

President Obama’s recent swing through Europe rekindled much of the positive energy that accompanied his election – despite some increasingly thorny issues that had to be discussed. Whether or not Obama can turn this goodwill into practical results on a range of issues, however, remains to be seen. This section features essays from Jan Techau, Kurt Volker, Daniel Fata, and Dr. Jackson Janes, all of whom focus on the long-term implications for transatlantic relations in the wake of the trip.

AGI Podcast: Germany’s Role in Libya and the Middle East

In a new AICGS Podcast, Member of the Bundestag Dr. Andreas Schockenhoff, deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU-parliamentary group for Foreign Affairs, examines the roles of Germany, NATO, and the EU in dealing with the conflict in Libya and across the greater Middle East-North Africa region. Moderated by Dr. Jackson Janes, Dr. Schockenhoff touches on Turkey’s role in the Middle East, potential Libyan comparisons to Kosovo, and the importance of Egypt in overall regional stability.

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How Europe Can Get the Germany it Needs

Since the beginning of the euro crisis last year, no solution to the crisis was possible without Germany, write AICGS Non-Resident Senior Fellow Dr. Ulrike Guérot and Mark Leonard, both of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Although Germany has now signaled it will do what it takes to save the euro, much of Europe is worried about the way this will be done; the authors argue that Germany needs to recast its approach to economic governance to avoid the creation of a two-speed Europe and put its economic might at the heart of a push to develop a global Europe.

The Currency of Confidence

In this week’s At Issue, Executive Director Dr. Jackson Janes discusses the declining value of the dollar versus the euro and the implications for both Germany and the United States in maintaining confidence in economic fundamentals at home and abroad.

A Love Affair with the Status Quo

The German people have developed a preference for the status quo, writes AICGS Trustee and former German Ambassador to the United States Wolfgang Ischinger. The world is fundamentally changing, yet German politicians are responding passively in concert with the status quo preference, a shortsighted view that does nothing but harm future generations of Germans and Europeans, Ischinger argues. This essay originally appeared in the July 6, 2011, edition of Der Spiegel.

The Euro Zone Should Look to the Brady Plan to Solve Its Crisis

As the financial crisis within the euro zone widens, governments have been at a loss for immediate action to resolve the situation. In an essay based off of his remarks given at a recent AICGS conference on Balancing Global Macroeconomic Discrepancies, Jacob Funk Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics suggests that the Brady Plan from the Latin American debt crisis in the 1980s might provide a good model for the euro zone as it tries to extricate itself from further crisis.

Europe’s Surprisingly Bold Step Toward Solving Its Sovereign Debt Crisis

The outcome of the euro area meeting last week was far more substantive than expected, even if one takes into account that the expectations had been at rock bottom, writes Jacob Kirkegaard, research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a regular contributor to the Advisor. Not only did EU leaders demonstrate how they intend to prevent peripheral defaults, they also gave us an idea of their longer-term solutions for Europe’s economic problems and future integration, Kirkegaard argues.

Libya in Limbo?

In this week’s At Issue, Executive Director Dr. Jackson Janes examines the unfolding crisis in Libya and the potential lessons of past crises in the Balkans for Germany, the EU and, NATO.

Not Without America

Are the Americans the only ones who can talk seriously about how to help the Libyans and to maintain global balance? AICGS Trustee Ambassador John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, ponders this question knowing that it is going to stay that way for the foreseeable future based on the perception that Europe cannot meet the new security challenges. Kornblum argues that a new strategy for Atlantic relations must be developed that demonstrates how Western values can help master the practical problems of globalization. The German version of this essay originally appeared in the March 8, 2011, edition of Die Welt.