In this week's At Issue, Executive Director Dr. Jackson Janes discusses how an unexpected catalyst in the 2009 election of Germany's President may add more political competition among the parties for the Chancellery as well, effectively turning the German political scene into an endless campaign cycle for the next seventeen months, paralleling the American experience with the long-term presidential race in the U.S.

To read this essay, please click here.

 

Elmar Sulk, Senior Strategist at Lincoln Park Public Relations and a regular contributor to the Advisor, examines the events surrounding the election of the German Federal President and argues that this election has always been a harbinger of how stable the coalitions in the Bundestag will be, which is especially important prior to parliamentary elections in 2009.

To read this essay, please click here.

 

As the Democratic primary races continue, the focus has remained on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Rüdiger Lentz, Washington Bureau Chief of Deutsche Welle, and Dr. Michael Werz, Transatlantic Fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States, both offer their views on Republican nominee John McCain, a candidate who has largely been forgotten about in Europe. Lentz's text comes from a speech given at a joint AICGS-Friederich Naumann Stiftung event on "The German Media's Perspectives on the Candidates," and Dr. Werz's essay first appeared in the May 2008 edition of Kommune.

To read the text of Rüdiger Lentz's speech, please click here.

To read Michael Werz's article, please click here (PDF).

 

Former DAAD/AICGS Fellow Almut Möller writes about how the result of the U.S. presidential election will alter policies in the Middle East and analyzes each of the candidates' stated policy goals and policies in this region, concluding that the next president is going to significantly affect this region no matter who is elected.

To read this essay, please click here (PDF).

 

 

The Conservatives' New Favorite Color
The alliance between the CDU and the Greens in Hamburg represents a radical new political realignment, writes Stefan Theil, a correspondent for Newsweek and a frequent contributor to the Advisor. The first test of this alliance at the state level could have strong repercussions at the federal level as both the CDU/CSU and SPD look for potential new coalition partners before the 2009 election. This article originally appeared in the May 26, 2008, edition of Newsweek International.

To read this article, please click here.

 

AICGS's Ann-Kristin Otto recently attended the Manfred Wörner Seminar on transatlantic security cooperation and writes about her experiences during the ten-day seminar in her essay "Building Bridges: The 26th Manfred Wörner Seminar." While security issues were the main focus of the event, Otto writes, the basis for transatlantic cooperation on many other issues was clear to all participants.

To read this essay, please click here.

On November 13, 2008, AICGS will hold its fourteenth annual Global Leadership Award Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. At this year's gala, the Institute will celebrate its 25th Anniversary, and for the first time in its history, AICGS will honor two award recipients: Richard D. Parsons, Chairman of the Board of Time Warner Inc. and Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer AG. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Robert M. Kimmitt will present the award to both distinguished recipients on this special evening.

For more information about the dinner and sponsorship opportunities, please click here.
 

Welcome New AICGS Members
AICGS welcomes the new members who have joined the Institute since May 2, 2008:

• Cole Blasier
  
• KPMG Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft AG
• Marion Deshmukh
  

They join a growing group of individuals, companies and foundations who are deepening their engagement in the German-American partnership through the Institute's expanding membership program.

To learn more about the AICGS membership program and the various levels of membership offered by the Institute, please click here (PDF).

 

AICGS is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications for the DAAD/AICGS Fellowship program, sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).  The deadline for Spring 2009 (January 2009 - June 2009) is August 31, 2008.

For more information and application instructions, please click here.