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 Comparison between the Recent “Comfort Women” Deal and German Payments to Slave and Forced Laborers

The Japanese-Korean deal concerning “comfort women,” formulated by Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe and South Korean president Park Geun-hye on 28 December 2015, included a pledge from Japan to provide …

Obama and Merkel Craft Their Approaches to Islam, Refugees

In both the United States and Germany, tensions have risen regarding the influx of refugees and relations with domestic and asylum-seeking Muslims. Early this month, President Barack Obama visited the …

Golden Opportunity – The Refugee Crisis’s Economic Potential for Germany

Last fall at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board at Daimler AG, Head of Mercedes-Benz, and recipient of the 2015 Global Leadership Award abruptly …

The Sad Truth Highlighted by Germany Assaults

AGI Non-Resident Fellow Joyce Marie Mushaben weighs in on the Cologne assaults in this blog post from CNN.

Center-Right Parties and Immigration: Contours of a Conundrum

Immigration policymaking has attracted a great deal of interest recently. Somewhat surprisingly, there is only limited political science scholarship on the role that political parties play in the process. This …

A Comparative Historical Analysis of Policy Trajectories in U.S. Bilingual Education and Islamic Religious Instruction in Germany (1965-2010): The Varying Influences of Anti-Immigrant Populism

Introduction In “Why Islam is Like Spanish: Cultural Incorporation in Europe and the United States,” Aristide Zolberg and Long Litt Woon argue that Islam and Spanish pose cultural threats to …

The Lost Children of Europe: The Displaced Persons Children’s Centers in the U.S. Occupation Zone of Germany and the Challenges for Relief Workers

As Germany commemorates the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Holocaust, we have an opportunity to reflect on life in the immediate postwar period for …

Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, His Policy toward Israel, and the German Responsibility for the Jewish People*

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of German-Israeli diplomatic relations, we are pleased to present a younger scholar’s views on an important crisis in the relationship: the proposed German-Saudi …

Impact of the Paris Attacks on Immigration Policy

After the worst attacks on French soil since World War II, anxiety is growing across Europe—including in Germany—on the topic of immigration. The Paris attacks have raised fears that IS …

AGI Transatlantic Exchange Program: Giving Voice to Future Leaders

From October 11-15, 2015, AGI convened the inaugural group of young leaders in its new AGI Transatlantic Exchange Program: Giving Voice to Future Leaders. The participants engaged in exchanges and …

Merkel and Hollande Address European Parliament

In recent years, as Europe has confronted crisis after crisis, we have seen the importance of German leadership, and of integrating that leadership into a community of nations working toward …