AICGS Advisor - December 19, 2008

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Happy Holidays from AICGS!
The staff at AICGS would like to wish all of our Advisor subscribers a very happy and safe holiday season, some time to rest and reflect, and a Guten Rutsch! This will be the last Advisor of 2008; look for the next edition in early January 2009.

Analysis

The Clash of Campaigns
In this week's At Issue, Executive Director Dr. Jackson Janes discusses the clashes of election campaign cycles in Germany and the U.S., focusing on how differing domestic and global priorities will affect the ability to cooperate and solve the major crises of today.
To read this essay, please click here.

Issue Brief #28: U.S. and European Banks:
Two Sides of the Same Story?
Financial institutions in Europe and the U.S. are currently facing one of the most difficult periods in decades. In Issue Brief 28, Deutsche Bank/AICGS Fellow Jan Schildbach examines the fundamentals of banking markets on both sides of the Atlantic, looking at the role of globalization in determining success and failure as well as possible future trends in an era of increasing regulation.
To access this Issue Brief, please click here.

German-American Issues #9: Religion and Public Policy:
A German-American Comparison
AICGS is pleased to present German-American Issues 9, "Religion and Public Policy: A German-American Comparison." The essays presented in this publication examine the issues of faith-based initiatives, stem cell research, and religious education from both German and American perspectives, and discuss how religion is understood in the public sphere, whether cultural or historical sensitivities constrain policymakers' choices, and how religious concerns can be incorporated into a decision-making process that is not necessarily designed to account for these concerns.
To access this publication, please click here.

Is Europe Still the World's Leader on Climate Change?
After the recent Poznan conference on climate change, Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Senior Policy Advisor of The Nature Conservancy, Vice President of Ecologic Institute, and a regular participant in AICGS events, looks at Europe's standing as the leader of global climate efforts and whether that standing has changed. Mr. Müller-Kraenner argues that Europe is still leading the climate charge, but that its margin has shrunk significantly.
To read this essay, please click here.
For more information about Mr. Müller-Kraenner's new book on energy security, please click here.

Transatlantic Relations After the U.S. Elections:
Continuities and Change
On December 11, 2008, Karsten Voigt, Coordinator of German-American Cooperation in the German Foreign Ministry, gave a speech at Potsdam University regarding the "new era" in American foreign policy under President-elect Obama, focusing on the possibilities for action in the areas of climate change, economic policy, arms control, and stabilizing regional conflicts.
To read a transcript of this speech, please click here (PDF).

Ideas, Institutions and Organized Capitalism
In an essay titled "Ideas, Institutions and Organized Capitalism: Germany, Europe and Twenty-first Century Economic Policy Models," DAAD/AICGS Fellow Dr. Christopher Allen looks at the demise of Modell Deutschland in the context of neo-liberalism and the current global financial crisis. Dr. Allen asks the question why such a model was created in the first place and whether a renewed form of it might still be useful for developed democracies in the early twenty-first century.
To read this essay, please click here (PDF).

Helmut Schmidt and America
In an essay taken from a greater collection of well-wishes to former chancellor Helmut Schmidt on his upcoming ninetieth birthday, AICGS Founding Director Robert Gerald Livingston pays tribute to the former chancellor by praising his prowess as the ultimate crisis manager. This article originally appeared in Die Zeit Online.
To read this article, please click here.

Announcements

AICGS Hosts World Bank President Robert Zoellick
The Institute was pleased to host World Bank President Robert Zoellick at its Langhammer Luncheon Series event on December 11. Mr. Zoellick, a former member of the AICGS Board of Trustees, discussed the challenges ahead for both countries and institutions as we face one of the most serious global recessions in modern history. He stressed the important role of transatlantic relations in coordinating responses, and the need to continue to build a strong "stake-holder" approach to global solutions.
In a speech delivered in Berlin on November 19 at Humboldt University, Mr. Zoellick discussed many of these issues which we are please to share with you here.
To read a transcript of Mr. Zoellick's Humboldt University speech, please click here.
To view pictures from the Langhammer Luncheon with Mr. Zoellick, please click here.

New Senior Visiting Fellow: Dr. Gale Mattox
AICGS would like to welcome its newest Senior Visiting Fellow, Dr. Gale A. Mattox. Dr. Mattox is Professor, Political Science Department, at the U.S. Naval Academy, former elected department chair and chair of chairs, and was a DAAD/AICGS Summer Grant Fellow in 1991; Dr. Mattox will be in residence at AICGS through February 2009.
For a short biography of Dr. Mattox, please click here.

New Member of the Board of Trustees
AICGS would like to welcome its newest member of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Lutz R. Raettig. Dr. Raettig is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Morgan Stanley Bank AG in Frankfurt and also serves as a Director of Morgan Stanley Bank International Limited, London, and of Morgan Stanley International Limited, London; we welcome Dr. Raettig to the Board.
For a short biography of Dr. Raettig, please click here.

Seeking DAAD/AICGS Fellowship Applications
AICGS would like to announce that it is now accepting applications for the DAAD/AICGS Fellowship program, sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The application deadline for Fall 2009 (June 2009 - December 2009) is February 28, 2009.
For more information and application instructions, please click here.

Event Summary: Global Capital Flows
On Friday, November 21, 2008, AICGS held a discussion with Ms. Ute Volz, DAAD/AICGS Fellow, who presented the preliminary findings of her research at AICGS. Titled "Global Capital Flows: The Investment Income Puzzles of Germany and the United States," Ms. Volz's project compares the international investment positions (IIP) of the U.S. and Germany. This discussion examined why Germany is unable to take advantage of its strong IIP, among other issues, and was held with the generous support of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
For a summary of this event, please click here.

Event Summary: Ideas, Institutions and Organized Capitalism
On December 10, 2008, AICGS hosted DAAD/AICGS Fellow Dr. Christopher S. Allen, the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of International Affairs at the University of Georgia, for a discussion of his research on "Ideas, Institutions and Organized Capitalism: Germany, Europe, and Twenty-first Century Economic Policy Models." Dr. Allen examined the rise and decline of the two organized capitalist regimes in Germany and questioned if a third model would perhaps be possible going forward.
For a summary of this event, please click here.

Join the AICGS Silver Anniversary Club for $25
Help us celebrate the Institute's 25th Anniversary and support our efforts to strengthen German-American relations through Knowledge, Insights and Networks by joining the AICGS Silver Anniversary Club. A tax-deductible contribution of just $25 will help us produce in-depth seminars and publications covering the major issues that will shape German-American relations in 2009, including Energy Security, Climate Change, Terrorism and Immigration. Silver Anniversary Club members will be listed by name in the Registry of Donors on the AICGS website.
For more information about the AICGS Silver Anniversary Club, please click here.

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