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 …
Bypass Operation
On 18 June, during the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an agreement was signed to build a controversial new “Nord Stream 2” pipeline under the Baltic Sea that would …
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 …
Risky Business
A delegation of business leaders, led by German economics minister Sigmar Gabriel, visited Iran in July, just weeks after the U.S. and Iran reached a nuclear deal. Although some are …
Time for a Helsinki 2.0?
In this two-part series, DAAD/AGI fellow Liana Fix explores both the potential and the challenges Germany faces when it embarks on the journey to reform the Organization for Security and …
Recent Authors
AGI provides knowledge, insights, and networks as tools to solve the challenges ahead.
Support Our WorkHas Merkel’s Power Peaked?
Angela Merkel is under pressure. For many years she has been a rock at Brussels’ conference tables dominated by sobering discussions on the economic and social outlook of EU member …
Data Transfers: EU Court Declares EU/US Safe Harbor “Invalid” – What Now?
U.S. companies with European business will most likely mark 6 October 2015 as a dark day on their calendars. The highest EU court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in …
Die Welt Ist Aus Den Fugen
In a recently published interview, John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and an AGI Trustee, shares his views on the challenges Europe faces in a complex and continuously changing …
TPP: Lessons from the Pacific for the Atlantic
This week’s successful conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations is a major historical milestone. It is the first part – along with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) …
A Natural Aspiration
AGI is pleased to present this collection of essays reflecting on the 25th anniversary of German unification in October 2015. We are grateful to those who have contributed to this …
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.
German Unification and European Security
How has German unity impacted the U.S. in terms of its policies and its expectations of Germany as part of that evolving Europe in which it has become so critically important? How have the following years impacted the shaping of U.S. foreign policy, its goals, and its application? What expectations emerged about the global role of the U.S. and our expectations of a unified Germany? The questions above are the ones on which AICGS has asked commentators in this series to reflect upon as the 25th anniversary of the unification of Germany approaches on October 3. They are all significant questions but, given the space constraints, I would like to limit this brief comment to one particular aspect on which I have some modest expertise: the extensive overlap between the process that yielded German unification and the process that yielded expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Germany and America
Taken as a whole, the 25 years following the fall of the Berlin Wall have in the West been an unquestioned success. Two parts of Germany merged hostile systems without drama or dangerous economic strain. To ensure that nationalism will not be reborn, the former Western Europe of the European Communities has expanded into a continent-wide Union of 28 democratic nations, some of which had not known true freedom in their entire histories.
Taking Stock in United Germany at 25 Years
AGI is pleased to present this collection of essays reflecting on the 25th anniversary of German unification in October 2015. We are grateful to those who have contributed to this …
