AICGS: ANALYSES : The AICGS Advisor

The Battle for the Bundestag 2009
AICGS is pleased to announce the debut of The Battle for the Bundestag 2009 - AICGS' coverage of the German federal election. We are excited to provide you with this platform for insights into the campaigns, knowledge of the issues, and discussion of the election. Highlighted by The Battle for the Bundestag 2009 blog, we will bring you updates from Berlin and the United States on the run-up to the German election; once the votes are tallied, we will provide additional analysis of the results. Our coverage will focus on those issues most pertinent to the election debate in economic policy, foreign and domestic policy, the view from across the Atlantic, and campaign politics. We encourage you to check back often and welcome your feedback. We are looking forward to a lively exchange on the blog and in the German election campaign!
To access the AICGS election portal, please click here.
To access the AICGS election blog, please click here.

Kulturpolitik versus Aussenpolitik in the Past Sixty Years
Senior Non-resident Fellow Dr. Frank Trommler, Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, examines the history of the Federal Republic's foreign cultural policy and how it has expanded and changed since after World War II. Dr. Trommler writes that the decentralization of foreign cultural policy in the Federal Republic has opened a more creative and attractive exchange with other countries, something that has led to the betterment of all parties involved.
To read this essay, please click here (PDF).

NATO and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
As NATO is increasingly engaged in Afghanistan, a new player has entered into the scene and carved out a slice of the Afghan security pie - the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO. In her essay "NATO and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: New Energy Geopolitics for the Transatlantic Alliance," Dr. Christina Y. Lin, currently a Visiting Fellow at AICGS and Researcher for Jane's Information Group, looks at the growing global role the SCO is aspiring toward and how its presence in the energy security debate as well as its potential as a military alliance will shape the future of NATO and transatlantic relations.
To read this essay, please click here (PDF).

German and U.S. Domestic Counterterrorism Responses: Only Half a World Apart
According to popular opinion, German and U.S. approaches to counterterrorism could not be more different. However, when looking past the rhetoric and focusing on domestic counterterrorism responses, one sees that German and U.S. approaches are not as different as commonly thought, argues Dr. Dorle Hellmuth, former DAAD/AICGS Fellow and professor at American University. Especially since terrorism is a global issue that requires cooperation amongst nations, it is crucial to highlight the many similarities between German and U.S. counterterrorism challenges, objectives, and practices, Dr. Hellmuth writes.
To read this essay, please click here (PDF).

The Transatlantic Agenda for Labor Market Reform
Former DAAD/AICGS Fellow Tobias Schulze-Cleven writes that the current global economic crisis presents an opportunity to rethink economic policy priorities in both the United States and Germany. In his essay "The Transatlantic Agenda for Labor Market Reform: Increasing Adaptability Through Continuing Training," Mr. Schulze-Cleven suggests that the countries use this opportunity to reexamine their respective continuing training programs as a way to provide workforce security for both good and bad economic times, using the example provided by Denmark's continuing training programs as a model for going forward.
To read this essay, please click here (PDF).

The EU Five Years After Its Eastern Enlargement
Five years after the EU's 2004 enlargement, former DAAD/AICGS Fellow Dr. Kai-Olaf Lang looks at the early results of this eastern expansion and concludes that the positives outweigh the many negatives that have come out of it. Dr. Lang writes that a more consistent enlargement policy will enable the EU to export stability to its fringes, something that will benefit all of its members.
To read this essay, please click here (PDF).

Germany's Founding Pillars at 60: Future Challenges and Choices
The newest German-American Issues edition, "Germany's Founding Pillars at 60: Future Challenges and Choices" (#10), examines the current dimensions of the three pillars on which the Federal Republic was founded: The future of the social market economy; the German Basic Law's influence on the German military; and German-American relations from an eastern and western German perspective. This volume includes essays from Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner and Mark Prentice, Dr. Russell A. Miller, Clemens Wergin, and Dr. Torsten Wöhlert.
To access this publication, please click here (PDF).

German-American Relations Between Elections
As Germany approaches its September federal election, how will this election shape German-American relations in the coming months? In Issue Brief 30, Jessica Riester, Research Program/ Publications Coordinator at AICGS, examines the policy challenges facing the two countries and the expectations each country has for the other before and after the election, arguing that the German-American relationship can flourish in 2009 and beyond.
To access this Issue Brief, please click here (PDF).

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Successfully Integrating Immigrant Children in Compulsory Education Systems
On August 26, 2009, AICGS will hold a discussion with Dr. Ann Keller-Lally, DAAD/AICGS Fellow, on "Successfully Integrating Immigrant Children in Compulsory Education Systems: A Comparative Analysis of Federal Educational Policy in the United States and Germany." As the U.S. and German labor forces rely heavily on immigration to fill the gaps in their own populations, successful integration of immigrants has become paramount in maintaining a competitive edge in the global economy. This discussion will explore federal educational policies related to immigrant children and the challenges that hinder effective integration of immigrant students, as well as other related topics.
To RSVP and for more information, please click here.

Announcements

Broken Berlin Wall - Art By Tom Block
As AICGS marks the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, artist, writer, and activist Tom Block has generously placed some of his work inspired by the Wall itself on display at the AICGS offices. In his own words, Block is displaying his work at AICGS "to not only honor the reunification of Germany, but also the necessity to examine our own interior walls." Please follow the link below for pictures, or stop by the office to see the artwork in person.
For pictures and additional information, please click here.

The 2009 German Elections and Their Effect on Governability
Germany faces a series of local, state, European, and federal elections in 2009 that will test the ability of a new six-party system to produce a strong and stable government. On July 24, 2009, AICGS held a conference titled "The 2009 German Elections and their Effect on Governability, Foreign Policy, and U.S.-German Relations," which examined the potential outcomes of these elections, their impact on foreign policy, and the implications for U.S.-German relations.
For a summary of this event, please click here.

2009 AICGS Global Leadership Award Dinner - Change of Date!!!
On November 4, AICGS will present the 2009 Global Leadership Award to Dr. Manfred Bischoff (Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG) and The Hon. James A. Baker, III (61st U.S. Secretary of State). Please note this change of date in your calendar.
For more information about this year's dinner, please click here.

2009 DAAD Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in German Studies
Every year, AICGS awards the DAAD Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in German and European Studies in recognition of exceptional work in one of the Institute's three major areas of research. The central aim of this prize is to foster a new generation of American scholarship on Germany and encourage innovative contributions to the interdisciplinary scope of German Studies. This year's prize carries a stipend of $5,000 and will be awarded in the field of Politics and International Relations; nominations must be received no later than September 8, 2009.
For more information, please click here (PDF).

Fellowship Opportunity: AICGS Visiting Fellows Program
AICGS would like to announce a new fellowship opportunity, the AICGS Visiting Fellows Program. The Visiting Fellows Program is designed to provide scholars and specialists with a base while conducting their research in Washington, D.C. Visiting Fellows should be working on issues related to the AICGS mission, which is to strengthen the German-American relationship in an evolving Europe and changing world. Applications will be accepted year round.
For more information about this program, please click here.

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