Jackson Janes is the President Emeritus of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC, where he has been affiliated since 1989.
Dr. Janes has been engaged in German-American affairs in numerous capacities over many years. He has studied and taught in German universities in Freiburg, Giessen and Tübingen. He was the Director of the German-American Institute in Tübingen (1977-1980) and then directed the European office of The German Marshall Fund of the United States in Bonn (1980-1985). Before joining AICGS, he served as Director of Program Development at the University Center for International Studies at the University of Pittsburgh (1986-1988). He was also Chair of the German Speaking Areas in Europe Program at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, DC, from 1999-2000 and President of the International Association for the Study of German Politics from 2005-2010.
Dr. Janes is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the Atlantic Council of the United States. He serves on the advisory boards of the Berlin office of the American Jewish Committee, Beirat der Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik (ZfAS), the Robert Bosch Foundation Alumni Association, and the American Bundestag Intern Network (ABIN) in Washington, DC. He is a member of the Board of the German American Fulbright Commission and serves on the Selection Committee for the Bundeskanzler Fellowships for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He is a member of the Cosmos Club in Washington DC.
Dr. Janes has lectured throughout Europe and the United States and has published extensively on issues dealing with Germany, German-American relations, and transatlantic affairs. In addition to regular commentary given to European and American news radio, he has appeared on CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, PBS, CBC, and is a frequent commentator on German television. Dr. Janes is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in Education.
In 2005, Dr. Janes was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Germany’s highest civilian award.
Education:
Ph.D., International Relations, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California
M.A., Divinity School, University of Chicago
B.A., Sociology, Colgate University
Expertise:
Transatlantic relations, German-American relations, domestic German politics, German-EU relations, transatlantic affairs.
Dr. Jackson Janes on German economic outlook and the end of the Merkel era on CGTN
AICGS President Emeritus Dr. Jackson Janes spoke recently on CGTN about Merkel’s successes and weaknesses in her time in office, the impact of coalition politics and political parties on the …
Dr. Jackson Janes discusses populist nationalism on CGTN’s The Heat
AICGS President Emeritus Dr. Jackson Janes appeared on CGTN on December 23, 2019, to discuss the rise of populist nationalism across the globe. Watch the Video
Maneuvering Around the Middle: Party Politics in 2020
In the last two weeks, four political parties in Germany have gathered at their annual conferences to start positioning themselves for the next federal election, currently scheduled for 2021. In …
Anticipating Uncertainty: Lessons from 1989 for 2020
As we approach the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, some of us might recall where we were when we heard the news of …
The Fall of the Berlin Wall: 30 Years Later
AICGS Project
On the Halle Synagogue Attacks
Everyone in the AICGS community grieves and condemns the right-radical, anti-Semitic terrorist incident that occurred on Yom Kippur, Wednesday, October 9, 2019, in the city of Halle. By now, the …
Jack Janes on C-Span’s Washington Today
On September 23, Dr. Jackson Janes spoke with C-Span’s Steve Scully on the Washington Today program. He discussed Germany, the UN, and the global perspective (23:40). Listen to interview
Trinitarian Politics in Germany: Impact of the State Elections in Brandenburg and Saxony
A lesser-known story in Christian history is how the concept of the Trinity of God—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—was the subject of massive disagreement in the early years of the …
Sitting in a Schleudersitz
If Ursula von der Leyen and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer soon meet for a drink to discuss their respective new job prospects, one wonders which woman thinks she faces the greater challenge. …
Reflections on Legacies and Lessons of 1989
In evaluating history, T.S. Eliot reminded us that human beings often “had the experience but missed the meaning.” In efforts to make sense of our past, we look for patterns …
From Bonn to Berlin: Seventy Years of the FRG
When I first visited Bonn in 1973, I had just read John le Carré’s “A Small Town in Germany.” Bonn was as he described it—a comfortable low-key atmosphere vastly different …
Pompeo’s No-Show in Berlin: An Occasion for Less Outrage and Considering More Options
When U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo suddenly canceled his visit to Berlin citing “pressing issues,” many Germans felt insulted. It was taken as another slap in the face from …
