AGI

Society, Culture & Politics

The AGI Society, Culture & Politics Program focuses on crucial topics within the German-American dialogue, including: demographic change, migration/integration, and aging societies; electoral politics at the national, state, and European levels, and comparative analysis of Germany and the United States; diversity within Germany, Europe, and the United States; the politics of collective memory and identity, Holocaust remembrance and reconciliation, and shifting conceptions of national identity that shape perspectives and policy responses.
Reset

The Unexpected Environmental Consequences of the Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic is killing tens of thousands of people across the world and gravely disrupting life almost everywhere. Much of China has been shut down since January, European countries …

Has the Coronavirus Pandemic Broken the Populist Fever?

One of the biggest challenges that pundits and intellectuals have confronted over the last few years is the rise of right-wing populism across the (western) world. A vigorous debate over …

Lost in Translation: The Meaning of Sanctuary for Immigrants in the U.S. and Germany

The American concept of “sanctuary cities” for asylum seekers is foreign—and somewhat incomprehensible—to Germans. In the United States, “sanctuary jurisdictions” are relatively few, and they are established to protect immigrants …

Lost in Translation: The Meaning of Sanctuary for Immigrants in the U.S. and Germany

Issue Brief 61 The American concept of “sanctuary cities” for asylum seekers is foreign—and somewhat incomprehensible—to Germans. In the United States, “sanctuary jurisdictions” are relatively few, and they are established …

“Your Homeland is our Nightmare”: Viable Conservatism Amid Far-Right Terror

In the weeks following political turmoil in eastern German state of Thuringia over unprecedented collaboration between mainstream German parties and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in supporting the Free …

Merkel Addresses German Public on Coronavirus: Will Her Efforts to Steel Domestic Solidarity Pave the Way for Ambitious German Actions?

Chancellor Merkel spoke directly to the German public in prime time on March 18, the first time she has delivered such an emergency address during her fourteen-plus years as chancellor. …

Europe Is Careening toward a Crisis of Its Own Making: Immigration, Coronavirus, and the End of European Values

On February 14, France announced the first coronavirus death in Europe. By the end of the month, cases had spread throughout Europe and spiked in Italy. On March 9, Italian …

The Fourth Wave of Feminism: Europe’s New Gender Equality Agenda

Despite event cancellations fueled by corona virus concerns, the European Union launched its new Gender Equality Strategy on March 5, just in time for International Women’s Day. Long before equal …

Germany on International Women’s Day 2020

With the departure of Elizabeth Warren from the U.S. presidential race, the “highest glass ceiling” in this country remains unbroken. Germany, however, has had a female chief executive since 2005. …

Episode 19: Sending the Right Signals: China, Foreign Policy, Politics

Few topics have dominated the German-American discourse lately more than China and the role of Huawei in 5G communications. Germans have become increasingly wary of Chinese interference, and are seeing …

Between German Pragmatism and “America First”: Democrats’ Foreign Policy in the 2020 Presidential Campaign

In the final weeks of 2019, The New York Times conducted video interviews with seven of the Democratic candidates for president, who were asked a series of questions on a …

Episode 18: Hamburg as Barometer: What’s Happening in German Politics

On Sunday, Hamburg voters went to the polls for what is the only (scheduled) regional election in Germany this year. Recent regional elections have served as a barometer for the …