Simon Morris-Lange, DAAD/AGI Research Fellow
AGI is pleased to welcome Simon Morris-Lange as a DAAD/AGI Research Fellow in August and September 2026. Dr. Simon Morris-Lange is Head of Research at Allianz Foundation in Berlin, where …
Reopening Germany’s Surrogacy Debate
A recent public revelation about a member of the Christian Democratic Party’s (CDU) leadership having a child through surrogacy unleashed a political storm in the party and has dramatically illuminated …
Looking for Germany’s Future in the Former East
A Week in Saxony On a warm Friday evening in late June, nearly 140 people gathered inside the former synagogue in Görlitz, Germany’s easternmost city. They had come from the …
Episode 151: Soccer and Society
The 2026 World Cup has been bigger than ever before; an expanded tournament of forty-eight teams has brought record-breaking audiences. On this episode of The Zeitgeist, Andrei Markovits discusses soccer …
Militant Democracy
The Party Banning Process in Germany The prospect of banning Germany’s premier right-wing populist party, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), now classified as a suspected extremist party, is a topic …
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Building LGBTQ+ Communities in Germany and the United States: Past, Present, and Future
A Three-Year AGI Project – Final Conference Summary The American-German Institute held a final conference in Washington, DC, for the three-year project, “Building LGBTQ+ Communities in Germany and the United …
The Effects of Majoritarian vs. Non-Majoritarian Political Systems on the Queer Community
The United States and Germany have constructed their democratic political systems in distinct ways. These frameworks can pose particular challenges to achieving progress in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. In …
Episode 150: Valuing Civil Society Organizations
Civil society organizations are funded differently in the United States and Germany, and LGBTQ+ organizations must take different approaches when seeking financial support from the public and private sector. Preston …
Heated Relations
The Past, Present, and Future of the LGBTQ+ Community in Germany and the United States For over a century, LGBTQ+ communities in Germany and the United States have fought for …
Activism and Storytelling in Germany’s Capital
From Weimar Berlin’s queer nightlife and groundbreaking research, to Cold War activism on both sides of the Berlin Wall, to today’s institutions and activists, Berlin has long been a center …
Episode 149: Forgotten LGBTQ+ Histories
The Stonewall Riots are known worldwide as a starting point for LGBTQ+ activism, and musicals like Cabaret have shared the story of the queer experience in Weimar Berlin. But the …
The AfD’s New Transatlantic Network
Tracking the AfD’s Engagement with the United States As the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has gained support domestically—exemplified by 20.8 percent of the vote in the 2025 Bundestag election—they have …
When Your Ally Is Not an Ally Anymore
Recently, the United States has seen immense turnover in policies and practices toward the LGBTQ+ community. One such reversal was the exclusion of transgender persons from the U.S. military. Alone, …
Building on Legacy
Generational Differences Within the Queer Community In 1980s Berlin, queer life existed largely in the shadows. While reforms to Paragraph 175 in 1969 and 1973 partially decriminalized sex between men, …
