What Can We Expect from the New German Government?
Speakers:
Barbara Donovan, Professor of Political Science, Wesleyan College
Sven T. Siefken, Professor of Political Science, Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences
Ed Turner, Associate Dean for Research Impact of the College of Business and Social Sciences, Aston University
Moderator:
Eric Langenbacher, Senior Fellow and Director of the Society, Culture & Politics Program, AGI
On May 6, Friedrich Merz and his cabinet are set to be sworn in as the 25th government of the Federal Republic of Germany. The “black-red” coalition of the Christian Democrats and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD) will be led by a cabinet of eighteen members with a variety of backgrounds and ideological stances. Few postwar governments have started under such tumultuous circumstances: war still raging in Ukraine, a sputtering economy, and a potential trade war with the United States. This webinar will explore the process of government formation, the 146-page coalition agreement, and the personalities who will make policy over the next term. Will the government be able to address the needs of the present? Have negotiations watered down the ambitious reforms the country needs? What is the likelihood of success and the consequences of failure?
Barbara Donovan is Professor of Political Science and the Dupont Guerry Chair of History and Economics at Wesleyan College. She holds a PhD from Georgetown University, a Master of Arts from the University of London, and a Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University. She teaches comparative and international politics, with a focus on Germany and Europe. She is the recipient of a number of grants and fellowships, including those from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the American-German Institute. She is a frequent contributor on panels at the German Studies Association, and the International Conference of Europeanists, and is also the author of a number of articles in such journals as German Politics and Society and German Politics. At Wesleyan, Dr. Donovan has served as department chair, division chair, and has been the director of two SACS-COC Quality Enhancement Plan projects.
Sven T. Siefken is Professor of Political Science at the Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences in Brühl, Germany, Visiting Professor at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, and Visiting Lecturer at the Hertie School in Berlin. He is Vice Chair of the IPSA Research Committee of Legislative Specialists and Editor of the German Journal for Parliamentary Affairs (Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen). In 2024 – 2025, he was delegated for research to the Bundestag and the Federal Chancellery. His work investigates coalition politics, parliaments and their functions and the future of democratic representation. Siefken has been the research coordinator of the international collaboration on “parliaments in the pandemic” and is currently co-leading a project “Redesigning Democratic Representation” funded by the Volkswagen-Stiftung.
Ed Turner is Reader in Politics at Aston University, and Co-Director of the Aston Centre for Europe. He chairs the International Association for the Study of German Politics, and has published widely on topics concerning federalism and political parties in Germany. He was seconded to the UK government for over two years, working as part of the Europe Research Group of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and is an Associate Fellow of the Foreign Policy Centre.
This session will convene via Zoom. Please contact AGI Program Associate Mr. Jack Fornasiero at jfornasiero@aicgs.org with any questions.
This event is supported with funds from the Harry and Helen Gray Humanities Program.
