Thirty Years After the Fall: The Lessons of 2019
As we commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall, one lingering question remains. Why were so many people shocked when it happened? We had enough warning. There was no reason …
Embarking on a New Path of Partnership: Thirty Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall
On Saturday, we mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was one of the most momentous political developments in a generation—the climax of the peaceful …
Fifty Years since Ostpolitik. How Willy Brandt’s Diplomacy Transformed Europe
It is fifty years since the start of Willy Brandt’s Ostpolitik. Brandt was a peculiar figure in contemporary history. Brandt’s dropping to his knees in front of the Warsaw Ghetto …
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, …
Recent Authors
Support the insights you need into the German-American relationship.
Support Our WorkJack Janes on C-Span’s Washington Today
On September 23, Dr. Jackson Janes spoke with C-Span’s Steve Scully on the Washington Today program. He discussed Germany, the UN, and the global perspective (23:40). Listen to interview
Ohne Mich Once Again
The German government’s decision not to participate in a Western effort to respond to Iran’s actions in the Persian Gulf is not surprising but deeply disappointing nonetheless. It is not …
Reflections on Legacies and Lessons of 1989
In evaluating history, T.S. Eliot reminded us that human beings often “had the experience but missed the meaning.” In efforts to make sense of our past, we look for patterns …
New Policy Report Now Available
Cooperation or Division? The German-American Relationship in a Changing World Policy Report 70 AICGS is pleased to present the written results of the third and final year of its project …
Felix Berenskötter, Visiting Fellow
AICGS is pleased to welcome Felix Berenskötter as a Visiting Fellow in June 2019. Felix Berenskötter is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in International Relations at SOAS, University of London. He …
The 70th Anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany: Challenges and Opportunities for the German-American Future and the Atlantic Community
On May 23, 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was established, a new state formed out of the zones of American, British, and French occupation. It was an incomplete step …
From Bonn to Berlin: Seventy Years of the FRG
When I first visited Bonn in 1973, I had just read John le Carré’s “A Small Town in Germany.” Bonn was as he described it—a comfortable low-key atmosphere vastly different …
Sovereignty Regained, Economic Order Uncertain: Germany’s Social Market Economy at 70
The Federal Republic of Germany gained de jure sovereignty as a nation-state on May 23, 1949, but its road to de facto sovereignty—actual power to advance its interests in the …
Advancing the German-American Alliance
Updating the Transatlantic Partnership for the Next 70 Years AICGS-ECFR Berlin Symposium, May 15, 2019 The year 2019 marks several major anniversaries that trace the arc of the transatlantic relationship: …
