AICGS: ANALYSES : The AICGS Advisor

Season's Greetings From AICGS
From all of us at AICGS, we would like to wish you Happy Holidays and all the best in the new year. We appreciate your support and hope that we can continue to provide you with our hallmark knowledge, insights, and networks for German-American relations.

The AICGS offices will be closed for the holidays from December 24 through January 3. Until then, Happy Holidays and a Guten Rutsch!

Analysis

Agenda 2010: A Test of Trust in Political Leadership
In this week's At Issue, Executive Director Dr. Jackson Janes examines the German and American agendas moving into 2010 and discusses how the challenges we face will necessitate cooperation.
To read this essay, please click here.

Issue Brief #33: The Challenge of Muslim Integration in Germany and the United States
In Issue Brief 33, "Similarities in Difference: The Challenge of Muslim Integration in Germany and the United States," Mounir Azzaoui examines the status of Muslim integration in both countries and concludes that even though the challenges each nation faces are somewhat different, a dialogue about the experiences of Muslim integration could be made fruitful for all of the challenges ahead. This Issue Brief is part of AICGS' project on the "Integration of Muslim Immigrants in Germany and the United States," which works to deepen the German-American understanding of immigration and integration of Muslims.
To read this Issue Brief, please click here (PDF).

New AICGS German-Language Website
AICGS is pleased to introduce the new German-language section of its website. This section will serve as an orientation to the Institute for its German-speaking audience as well as a clearinghouse for all of AICGS' German-language publications and research products. Moving forward into 2010 and beyond, this section will be expanded and improved to increase the Institute's outreach efforts to its German audience. We hope you find it to be of value.
To access this site, please click here.

Kunduz Bombing Scandal Links
In light of the growing scandal surrounding the German-led NATO bombing of a Taliban convoy in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in early September, AICGS has compiled the best media links surrounding the incident. As calls for Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg's resignation increase, Germany faces an even greater conundrum over its role in Afghanistan and whether or not enough public support exists to continue the mission.
To access this page of links, please click here.

The Fate of Deutschland AG
In a new Transatlantic Perspectives essay, Dr. Caroline Fohlin, Research Professor of Economics at Johns Hopkins University, gives an overview of the trends and cycles of inter-corporate relationships in Germany and considers the potential costs and benefits of the German model as it has evolved over time. Dr. Fohlin examines the "Deutschland AG" model and concludes with some thoughts on what lessons modern policymakers might draw from a broader perspective on financial systems and corporate governance.
To read this essay, please click here (PDF).

Germany: From the Middle to the Center
Ambassador John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and an AICGS Trustee, re-frames the traditional question of whether or not Germany is 'normal' and asks instead, why does the rest of the world still work so hard at trying to make Germany 'normal' in the first place? Despite this debate, Kornblum writes, Germany will not answer lingering questions about its normalcy in the twenty-first century, it will transcend them. A German version of this essay originally appeared in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and a version of this English text appeared in the November-December 2009 edition of The American Interest.
To read this essay in German, please click here (PDF).
To read this essay in English, please click here.

The Lasting Division of Germany: Two Germanys - Still Far from United
In their new Transatlantic Perspectives essay, Johann Legner and Linda Teuteberg examine how the legacy of forty years of the GDR affects politics in eastern Germany today. The authors provide two different views on the political developments in eastern Germany, with one reflecting from the viewpoint of a journalist who has observed the developments in East Germany for more than twenty-five years, and the other from the viewpoint of a young politician in the Brandenburg state legislature.
To read this essay, please click here (PDF).

Announcements

German-American Cooperation on the Fight Against Terrorism and the International Criminal Court
On December 10, 2009, AICGS held a discussion with DAAD/AICGS Fellow Kirstin Janssen-Holldiek on "German-American Cooperation on the Fight Against Terrorism and the International Criminal Court." In her presentation, Ms. Janssen-Holldiek explored current legal efforts by the United Stated and Germany to bring terrorists to justice as well as the prospect for further cooperation between the two nations, particularly with regard to the International Criminal Court.
For a summary of this event, please click here.

Mitigating Transport CO2 Emissions in the United States and Germany
On December 11, 2009, AICGS held a discussion with DAAD/AICGS Fellow Carl-Friedrich Elmer on "Mitigating Transport CO2 Emissions in the United States and Europe/Germany - An Assessment of Fuel Economy Regulations and Their Interaction with Cross-Sectoral Climate Policy Instruments." In his presentation, Mr. Elmer focused on the crucial factors that determine the environmental efficacy and economic efficiency of U.S. and European CO2 regulatory approaches in the transportation sector and how these sector-specific measures are best embedded in the broader context of climate policy.
For a summary of this event, please click here.

Assertive Supremacy: The United States and the 'Unity of Europe'
On December 15, 2009, AICGS hosted a lecture by DAAD/AICGS fellow Dr. Klaus Larres on "Assertive Supremacy: The United States and the 'Unity of Europe.'" In the discussion, Dr. Larres focused on the first two chapters of his forthcoming book, which analyzes the impact of America's dominant international position on the political, strategic, economic, and cultural transformation processes within Europe. As his major thesis, Dr. Larres pointed out that the United States at times pursued policies which appeared to be generous toward Europe, but it also consistently behaved in the traditional manner of a great power, calculating acceptable short-term costs and expecting long-term gains.
For a summary of this event, please click here.

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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