James D. Bindenagel is a retired U.S. Ambassador, Henry-Kissinger-Professor (Emeritus) at Bonn University, and Senior Non-Resident Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He has published: Germany: From Peace to Power? Can Germany Lead in Europe without Dominating it? (2020) and International Sicherheit im 21. Jahrhundert, Deutschlands Verantwortung (2015), both published by V&R Bonn for Bonn University.
Germany’s Role in the World
This article was originally published in German in CIVIS, August 2023. The question of Germany’s role in the world is as old as the Federal Republic. In the beginning, it …
What Follows from Germany’s National Security Strategy?
Strategic Foreign Policy Toward Russia, China, and Transatlantic Relations Russia’s war against Ukraine highlighted the epochal turning point in German foreign policy, which Olaf Scholz called a Zeitenwende. Germany has …
A First German National Security Strategy
Next to Come: A Process for German Priorities? The world looks for German leadership in its National Security Strategy, the first in German history, unveiled on June 14, 2023. It …
The Transatlantic Relationship in a World at Sea: Navigating the Partnership for the Next Decade
As the 2020 presidential election draws closer, both pundits and politicians, including Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, have repeatedly termed it “the most important election of our lives.” Superlatives are …
A Strategic Outlook
Report of the International Security Forum 2019 The Forum noted that the global political climate today is marked by a new competitive edge in international politics, the rise of systemic …
Germany and Europe Stepping Up – Security and Responsibility
Report of the International Security Forum 2018 Are Germany and Europe stepping up to bear more responsibilities in international affairs as the United States withdraws from international leadership? What are …
The Munich Security Conference and the Transatlantic Partnership
At the 2018 Munich Security Conference, Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger awarded Senator John McCain the Ewald von Kleist Award for his services to transatlantic relations and to the Munich Security Conference. In his tribute to Senator McCain, former US Vice President Biden praised the senator’s contributions to America’s leadership in making the world stronger and Europe better.
Expectations for the Munich Security Conference
The Munich Security Conference convenes at a time of the great unraveling of the world order. The world is less stable and more uncertain than it has been for years. …
Trump’s World
Donald Trump has tapped anger over eroding middle class income, loss of identity, and anti-establishment fervor in a campaign of anger that won the Electoral College vote and the presidency …
U.S. Presidential Election 2016: Implications for Transatlantic Relations
November 8 is Election Day in America. The U.S. has not one national election, but fifty state elections with 135 million voters, 538 Electors in the Electoral College. 270 Electors’ …
Merkel On the Brink? Germany at a crossroad of domestic and foreign policy change
The domestic political disquiet over the refugees since the March 13 state elections in Germany has not subsided. On the contrary, the debate about German identity and the chancellor’s governance …
The Obama Security Strategy and Beyond: Implications for Germany and Europe
Barack Obama’s final year in office is one with the world in upheaval. It is also the year that will shape the security strategy for the next U.S. president. This …
