Behind the PEGIDA Protests
As Francis Fukuyama describes in his latest book, Political Order and Political Decay, there is a vicious cycle within modern liberal democracies that is apparent today: a feedback loop of …
Losing our Classical Skills
The latest international test scores of American students and adults give low marks in reading, problem-solving, and, especially, math. It appears we are still nowhere near our peers in Tokyo, …
A Papal Path between Diversity and Dogma
Pope Francis stood before over 3 million people in Rio de Janeiro this past weekend, while Catholicism wanes in the United States and Germany. In this At Issue, Dr. Jackson Janes writes that the Holy Father must perform a balancing act between the distinct needs of Catholics the world over. This includes making careful choices between continuity and change.
The Official German Commitment to Fighting Anti-Semitism
Budapest On May 6, 2013, in a major speech to the World Jewish Congress in Budapest, German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle continued an official German tradition. Like German foreign ministers …
Papal Purposes
As the College of Cardinals gathered in Rome this week to choose—for the first time in 600 years—one pope to replace another who is still living, I reflected on two …
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Support Our WorkIslam in Germany Revisited: The Circumcision Debate
The notorious silence of the relatively uneventful summer this year in Germany was suddenly disrupted by a heated debate regarding the abolishment of circumcision—ignited by a May 2012 court ruling. …
Germany’s Circumcision Debate: A Personal Reflection
I never imagined that my existence as a Jew in Germany would be challenged by an advertisement in the Berlin U-Bahn. But there it was, staring at me on the …
Personal Reconciliation between Germans and Jews
The Many Levels of Reconciliation The award of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union has focused attention on how governments in Europe have built lasting reconciliation. Studies …
ISNA Annual Conference: One Nation Under God: Striving for the Common Good
As part of the Institute’s effort to spark a dialogue among the American and German Muslim communities, AGI was pleased to sponsor a German participant at the Islamic Society of …
Islam to be Added to German Public School Curriculum in North Rhine-Westphalia
While the prospect of religious education in public schools may confound or upset Americans, it is a common aspect of the German education system. In addition to many other major …
Transatlantic Trends: Consistency Amid Disorder
The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS) has released the results of its 2011 Transatlantic Trends: Immigration survey. Conducted via phone surveys of more than 13,000 European and …
Rajoy’s Cautionary Tale
More than anybody else Spanish Prime minister Mariano Rajoy embodies what many euro zone members nation’ leaders are going through. Caught in a purgatory, suspended between the proud defense of national sovereignty, the need for Euro zone financial solidarity and the powerful drift towards closer political integration, he is struggling to find the right balance and avoid catastrophe. After months full of missteps, even the proud Spaniard seems to have finally realized that there will be no safety for his country without further transfers of power towards Brussels.
