The Persistent Relevance of Immigration for German Voters
In Germany’s 2017 election, immigration played a decisive role as a clear wedge issue, splitting political parties and providing the necessary conditions for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to …
Elections are not Enough
Negotiating the “Traffic Light” Coalition Contract in 2021 To form a new government in Germany, elections are not enough: first, a coalition must be built to get the necessary votes …
Opposition(s) in a Fragmented Party System
The politics of opposition in Germany are increasingly complicated. For much of the early history of the Federal Republic, the party system was a two-bloc affair, with one side in …
Gender and Sexuality in the 2021 German National Election & Subsequent Coalition Agreement
As is common in European multi-party systems, the 2021 German national election featured a broad range of party-political positions on salient contemporary issues. Just as in the United States where …
AICGS Profiles: Claudia Roth
Commissioner to the Federal Government for Culture and Media In 2021, Claudia Roth was appointed Commissioner to the Federal Government for Culture and Media (Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und …
Recent Authors
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Support Our WorkChristopher Pavenstädt, AICGS Visiting Fellow
AICGS is pleased to welcome Christopher Pavenstädt as a Visiting Fellow in June 2022. Christopher Pavenstädt is a research associate in the cluster of excellency Climate, Climatic Change and Society …
A New Fiscal Policy Regime? Germany’s Fiscal Policy in the Wake of the Pandemic
Many observers were surprised by Germany’s fiscal policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only did the parliament temporarily suspend the constitutional debt brake (Schuldenbremse), but also the government orchestrated …
Episode 59: Germany’s Shifting Political Landscape—State Election Edition #2
This month’s election in Germany’s largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia, saw a resurgence of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), growing support for the Green Party, further decline of the Social Democratic …
Episode 58: Economic Transformation and Social Divisions in Germany’s Ruhrgebiet
On this episode of the Podcast, AICGS President Jeff Rathke talks with participants in the AICGS project on social divisions in Germany and the United States, which recently visited the …
Recovering More Than Profits
According to the usual statistics, the United States is leading the pack out of the pandemic. Already by the end of 2021, GDP was 5 percent higher than at the …
Experts all around us?
Scientific advisors in health systems and their effect on politics In 2007, the German novelist Juli Zeh published a play in which people live in a health dictatorship. Her dystopian …
Transatlantic Pandemic Response Shortcomings Highlight Need for More Robust Public Health Communications Infrastructure
As we enter May 2022, both the United States and Germany have reached similar inflection points in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Highly effective vaccines and boosters are widely available to …
Labor and Social Welfare Policies in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Germany and the United States Compared The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread standstill of substantial parts of the economy have had an unprecedented impact on businesses and …
