Helmut Kohl and NATO Enlargement: The Search for the Post-Cold War Order
NATO Enlargement as Order-Building Diplomacy Helmut Kohl’s achievements as a statesman go well beyond Germany’s unification. In the second half of his sixteen-year tenure, Kohl played a major role in …
Jeff Rathke discusses U.S. troop withdrawal from Germany with Washington Post
AICGS President Jeff Rathke discusses President Trump’s plan to withdraw one-third of U.S. troops stationed in Germany with The Washington Post’s Karen DeYoung. He notes, “For those who think this …
Promoting Integration and Avoiding Isolation. A Brief History of Germany’s Participation in NATO’s Nuclear Statecraft
Currently, Germany is struggling to decide on a successor for its aging Tornado aircraft. Some of the ancient Tornados are essential to carry forward deployed U.S. nuclear bombs and thus …
Returning to the Past to Win the Future: The SPD in Search of a Long-Term Strategy
Still in the midst of a pandemic and trying to unify a dispirited party with low poll numbers, Germany’s Social Democrats are now trying to revive the uplifting spirit of …
SPD Asks Others to Hold the Nuclear Umbrella
One of Germany’s most significant political figures grabbed and shook an important pillar of transatlantic security a few days ago. Rolf Mützenich, leader of the Social Democratic Party’s (SPD) Bundestag …
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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 …
Episode 22: Replacing the Tornado: The Strategic and Political Debate
In an era of increasing demands for military burdensharing, the issue of Germany’s aging combat aircraft fleet—the Tornados—is gaining importance. With functions ranging from conventional air-to-ground attacks, to air reconnaissance, …
Episode 20: Defender Europe 20: European Security and U.S. Commitments
Security threats, military spending, and concepts of burden-sharing have changed in the years following the end of the Cold War, and the transatlantic alliance has adapted to meet the new …
Yearning for Familiar Wine In Well-Known Bottles
Parsing the leitmotif of this year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC)—Westlessness—is worth the effort as it does not merely equal semantic pondering. The term invented by the organizers of the MSC …
The Future of Transatlantic Security Cooperation: Past Successes and Emerging Threats
The AICGS-BAKS Transatlantic Series “The U.S. and Germany: Partnership under Stress” held its fourth and final workshop, “The Future of Transatlantic Security Cooperation: Past Successes and Emerging Threats,” on November …
Jeff Rathke on defense agenda in DefenseNews
AICGS President Jeff Rathke discusses the German defense agenda after this year’s Munich Security Conference with DefenseNews. Of efforts to protect global shipping lanes, he says “It’s the mission that …
Does Germany Need a National Security Council?
In an op-ed for Tagesspiegel Causa, AICGS Trustee Julianne Smith calls on Germany to engage a National Security Council, a stance recently reiterated by German defense minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who …
Episode 14: Adapting to a New Foreign Policy Approach
Following the Bonn International Security Forum, AICGS President Jeff Rathke sat down with the hosts of the popular German-language podcast Sicherheitshalber to discuss the evolving dynamics of foreign and security …
The United States and Europe: The Need for Adaptation
The American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) and the German Academy for Security Policy (BAKS) convened a joint workshop on The U.S.-German Relationship: Partnership Under Stress? on June 25-26, …
