In this week's At Issue, Executive Director Dr. Jackson Janes discusses the other growing threat in the Middle East, Iran, and how the transatlantic partners should deal with Iranian nuclear ambitions. Dr. Janes argues that if there is one shared goal across the Atlantic, it should be the prevention of Iranian acquisition of nuclear weapons.

For the first half of 2007, Germany will wield significant power as simultaneous president of both the European Union and the G-8 conference. AICGS has created a new section of its website dedicated to covering the developments of these two major positions, with elements ranging from original AICGS analysis to international media coverage of the presidencies. These sites will be updated regularly, so please check back often.

For several years, the question has persisted of how to restore Germany's public finances to a sound footing while simultaneously financing Germany's social network, and this will pose a challenge in 2007 as well. On February 13, 2007, AICGS will host a discussion with several Members of the Bundestag's Budget Committee, focusing on the difficult tasks of financing Germany's social security, pension, and health system while trying to maintain a sound budget.

Germany has seen a remarkable economic upswing in the last part of 2006, but do the positive numbers for the German economy signal the return of Germany as the motor of growth for the European Union or is this only a pleasant surprise that can be explained by short-term factors rather then long-term structural changes? Professor Dr. Norbert Walter, chief economist for the Deutsche Bank Group and managing director of Deutsche Bank Research, will address these questions and more at an AICGS event on February 14, 2007. National Journal international economics correspondent Bruce Stokes will also provide commentary.

After one year in office, Chancellor Angela Merkel has received high marks for her work in the international realm. However, her domestic situation is nowhere near as strong, and that Merkel's push for change is causing some anxiety writes Dr. Gerd Langguth, professor at the University of Bonn and the author of a recently-released biography of Merkel. This essay is available in German and in English.

To read this essay in German, please click here.

Ambassador J. D. Bindenagel, Vice President at DePaul University and a member of the AICGS Senior Advisory Council, compares the current situation in Darfur to that of Sierra Leone in the 1990s, and argues that oil has the same importance for the genocide in Darfur as diamonds did for the civil war in Sierra Leone. Bindenagel also writes that the U.S. and EU must pressure China into giving up its reliance on Sudanese oil, and says that the international community has the power to stop genocide in Darfur if it chooses to do so. This article originally appeared in the January 25, 2007, Süddeutsche Zeitung and is available in German and in English.

To read this article in German, please click here.

Ulrich Speck, a journalist and foreign policy analyst for Die Zeit and a former DAAD/AICGS Fellow, analyzes Germany's current foreign policy outlook in an article titled "The Merkel Government: Germany Still in Search of a Foreign Policy." Speck writes that under the grand coalition, Germany has returned to a more traditional German foreign policy, based on keeping a low profile, balance, compromise and mediation. This article is part of a larger working paper from FRIDE (La Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior), titled "New Governments, New Directions in European Foreign Policies?" which is available at the FRIDE website.

Current DAAD/AICGS Fellow Dr. Sebastian Dullien, who is an economics correspondent and columnist at the Financial Times Deutschland, also helps run the blog "Eurozone Watch," a blog that monitors economics and economic governance of the Euro area. Along with Daniela Schwarzer, co-author of the recent AICGS publication, "Industrial Lobbying within the European Union: Actors, Strategies, and Trends in the Multi-Level System," Dr. Dullien has created a forum for discussing the most salient current developments from a Euro-economics and Euro-politics perspective.

On January 16, 2007, AICGS hosted a roundtable discussion with Henryk Broder on his latest book "Hurra - wir kapitulieren" ("Hurrah - We Surrender"). In his book he confronts the German public with a critical analysis of its behavior towards Islamic fundamentalism and accuses Europeans of pursuing a strategy of appeasement instead of solving national and international problems.

Excerpts from Mr. Broder's book are available at Der Spiegel's international website, which can be accessed by clicking here.

AICGS is seeking a part-time Research and Administrative Assistant to assist the Research Director. Primarily, the Assistant will support the Research Program Director with program-related correspondence and activities, coordinate his travel arrangements, and support the Research Program staff with the coordination of research program events.