Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-01-09 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York)
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, January 9, at 9:00 am ET for the first Kaffeepause of the year with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Andreas Kluth. Andreas Kluth is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Between March 2017 and February 2019, he was editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt Global, the English-language edition of Germany’s leading business newspaper. For the two decades before that, he wrote for The Economist — in London, Hong Kong, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Berlin.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-01-23 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us for a Kaffeepause with Sonja Gillert, Head of Audio and Podcaster for Die Welt.

Global Challenges 60 Years after the Élysée Treaty
2023-01-26 11:00 - 12:00
Following centuries of rivalry and conflict, France and Germany sent a strong signal of post-war reconciliation and laid the foundation for close cooperation to support European integration when President Charles de Gaulle and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer signed the Élysée Treaty on January 22, 1963. Six decades later, the six-member European Economic Community has grown to a European Union with 27 member states, East and West Germany have unified, the United Kingdom has joined (1973) and left (2020) the European club, the Soviet Union has dissolved, and Russia has invaded Ukraine. In this transformed world, the Franco-German alliance remains important, but it faces new challenges.
This weekend, President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet before the pair lead a joint cabinet meeting to mark the anniversary of the Elysée Treaty. How can the Franco-German alliance navigate the changing global order – and what lessons can be drawn 60 years after signing the treaty? Join the American Council on Germany and the French-American Foundation for a virtual discussion with Ambassador Antje Leendertse, Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations, and Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations. Ambassador Antje Leendertse has served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations in New York since September 2021. Prior to this, she was State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office starting in 2019, after serving as Political Director in the Foreign Office from 2018 to 2019. She has served as a Permanent Representative before, in her capacity as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Office of the United Nations and the other international organizations in Geneva from 2017 to 2018. Before that, she was Ambassador and Head of the Task Force for the 2016 OSCE Chairmanship from 2015 to 2017; Ambassador and Federal Government Commissioner for Disarmament and Arms Control in the Foreign Office from 2014 to 2015; and Ambassador and Director for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia in the Foreign Office from 2012 to 2014. Before that, Ambassador Leendertse served as Head of Division for the Western Balkans in the Foreign Office from 2009 to 2012. She entered the Foreign Service in the seminal year of 1990. She holds a master’s degree in medieval and modern history, Romance languages, economics, and philosophy from the University of Cologne.
Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière took office as Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations in New York on 8th July 2019. A graduate of the “Condorcet” class of the Ecole nationale d’administration (ENA), he was previously Director General of Political and Security Affairs at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (2014-2019). He also served as Assistant Secretary for the United Nations, International Organizations, Human Rights and Francophonie (2011-2014) and Deputy Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations in New York (2009-2010).
Ambassador de Rivière served in the offices of two Foreign Ministers: first, as Counselor for Economic Affairs, Asia and North America in the office of Dominique de Villepin (2002-2004), then as Counselor for International Economic issues, Asia and Americas in the office of Michel Barnier (2004-2005).
Nicolas de Rivière was conferred the insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in July 2015.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-01-30 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, January 30, at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Matthew Karnitschnig, Chief Europe Correspondent for Politico. Matthew Karnitschnig is POLITICO’s chief Europe correspondent, based in Berlin. He joined the publication in 2015 from the Wall Street Journal, where he spent 15 years in a variety of positions as a reporter and editor in the U.S. and Europe.
In a career spanning two decades, Mr. Karnitschnig has been on the front lines of some of the defining political and economic stories of our time. In 2008, he covered the fall of Lehman Brothers and the financial crisis that ensued. He was part of a team of Journal reporters that won a Gerald Loeb award and was named a Pulitzer finalist for National Reporting in 2009.
He subsequently spearheaded the WSJ’s coverage of the eurozone debt crisis as the paper’s Germany bureau chief and European economics editor. He led the team that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting in 2011 and won an Overseas Press Club award in 2012.
Mr. Karnitschnig previously worked as a journalist for BusinessWeek, Reuters, and Bloomberg.
The son of an Austrian father and an American mother, he grew up in Arizona, where he got his start reporting as a stringer for the Phoenix Gazette during high school.

One Year On: Germany’s Foreign Policy Reckoning After Ukraine
2023-02-02 13:00 - 14:30
On 27 February 2022, three days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a set of transformative measures for Germany’s foreign and defense policy. One year on, to what extent has the war in Ukraine changed not only German politics and public opinion but that of its allies? Looking ahead, how will the “Zeitenwende” impact relations with actors like Russia and China?
Join the American Council on Germany, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Körber-Stiftung, Pew Research Center, and the German Embassy in Washington for an in-depth review of what we can expect from Germany’s implementation of the foreign and defense policy changes that Chancellor Scholz announced almost a year ago. Julia Ganter, Editor of “The Berlin Pulse” for the Körber-Stiftung, and Jacob Poushter, Associate Director of the Pew Research CenterPew Research Center, will briefly share insights on German and U.S. public opinion based on the survey results of the annual report The Berlin Pulse. A panel discussion will follow with Ambassador Emily Haber, German Ambassador to the United States; Ambassador Oksana Markarova, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States; Dan Baer, Senior Vice President for Policy Research and Director of the Europe Program at Carnegie; and Sophia Besch, Fellow in the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and moderated by ACG President and CEO Dr. Steven E. Sokol.
This is a hybrid event and will be held in Washington, DC.

Dan Baer is Senior Vice President for Policy Research and Director of the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Before, he was the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Sophia Besch is a Fellow in the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Her research focuses on European foreign and defense policy.
Julia Ganter is the Program Manager and Editor of The Berlin Pulse. She is also responsible for Asia activities in the International Affairs Department of the Körber-Stiftung.
Ambassador Emily Haber has been the German Ambassador to the United States since June 2018. Before her transfer to Washington, DC, she served in various leadership functions at the Foreign Office in Berlin.
Ambassador Oksana Markarova is a Ukrainian politician and the current Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States. Before being appointed Ambassador, she was the Minister of Finance of Ukraine.
Jacob Poushter is an Associate Director at Pew Research Center. His focus is on international survey research, including public opinion on the international image of the United States and perceptions of global threats.
Dr. Steven E. Sokol (moderator) is the President and CEO of the American Council on Germany. He served as President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh from July 2010 until April 2015. Before that, he was Vice President and Director of Programs at the American Council on Germany.

Canceled - Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-02-06 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, February 6, at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Paul-Anton Krüger, Parliamentary Correspondent in the Berlin Bureau of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Paul-Anton Krüger has been the Parliamentary Correspondent in the Berlin Bureau of the Süddeutsche Zeitung since the 2021 federal election. Previously he reported on political affairs and served as Deputy Head of the Foreign Policy Department with a focus on the Middle East and international security for three years. Before that, he spent four years in Cairo and was a correspondent covering large parts of the Arab world and Iran.
After graduating from the Alte Landesschule in Korbach, he studied journalism in Berlin and Munich. In August 2005, he joined the Süddeutsche Zeitung as a volunteer, worked as an editor from 2008, and as head of the foreign policy department from 2011. In the fall of 2007, Mr. Krüger was a guest editor at the Chicago Tribune as part of the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship, the German-American journalism scholarship of the International Journalism Programs e.V.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Munich?
2023-02-21 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Tuesday, February 21, at 9:00 am ET for a special Kaffeepause following the Munich Security Conference with Steven Erlanger, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Europe for The New York Times. Steven Erlanger is the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Europe for The New York Times, a position he assumed in 2017. He is based in Brussels.
Mr. Erlanger was previously the Bureau Chief in London from 2013 to 2017; in Paris from 2008 to 2013; in Jerusalem from 2004 to 2008; in Berlin from 2001 to 2002; in Prague from 1999 to 2001; in Moscow from 1994 to 1996; and in Bangkok, Thailand, from 1988 to 1991.
Mr. Erlanger has also served as the newspaper’s Editor of cultural news from 2002 to 2004, as the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Washington from 1996 to 1999, and as a Moscow Correspondent from 1992 to 1994. He joined The Times in 1987 as a metro reporter.
Before coming to The Times, Mr. Erlanger worked for The Boston Globe for 11 years. At The Globe, he was a European Correspondent, based in London from 1983 to 1987, and the Deputy National and Foreign Editor for three years before that. He also served as Assistant National Editor and Assistant Foreign Editor and reported from Eastern Europe, Canada, and revolutionary Iran.
From 1975 to 1983, Mr. Erlanger was a teaching fellow at Harvard University, first in the College and then at the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He also was the assistant editor of the Nieman Reports, the journal of Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism, in 1975.
Mr. Erlanger shared the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for a series about Russia, and was part of a team awarded the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for his work on Al Qaeda. In 2016, Mr. Erlanger was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur by the French government for his long career in journalism. He shared and received the American Society of News Editors’ Jesse Laventhol Prize for deadline reporting in 2001 for his work in the former Yugoslavia. He received the German Marshall Fund’s Peter Weitz Prize in 2000 for excellence and originality in reporting and analyzing European and transatlantic affairs and the Robert Livingston Award for International Reporting in 1981 for a series of articles about Eastern Europe.
Mr. Erlanger graduated from the Taft School in Watertown, Conn., and received an A.B. degree, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Harvard College in 1974. He majored in political philosophy in the government department. He also studied Russian as a senior fellow at St. Antony’s College, Oxford.
Mr. Erlanger has published articles in The Economist, The Spectator, The New Statesman, The New Republic, The Financial Times, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, the Columbia Journalism Review, and other publications. He wrote a monograph, “The Colonial Worker in Boston, 1775,” for the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1975.

Understanding Germany: One Year After the Zeitenwende
2023-02-27 11:00 - 12:00
Three days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed a special session of the Bundestag on Sunday, February 27. In his Zeitenwende speech, he laid out a set of transformative – and ambitious – measures for Germany’s foreign, security, and energy policies. The speech was perceived as a major turning point for Germany – and for the security architecture of Europe. One year later, the demand for German leadership is more significant than ever.
As we mark the anniversary of the speech, there are a host of open questions, including: To what degree has the war in Ukraine changed not only German politics and public opinion, but that of its allies? How should European stakeholders be involved in Russia’s aggression in Ukraine? What is the future security architecture of Europe? How will the Zeitenwende impact relations with actors like Russia and China?
To address these questions, join us for a virtual discussion with ACG Young Leader alumna Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller. She is an expert on German, European, and transatlantic foreign and security policy and strategy.

Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller (1993 ACG Young Leader) is the director of the Center on the United States and Europe and the inaugural holder of the Fritz Stern Chair on Germany and Transatlantic Relations at the Brookings Institution. She held the Kissinger Chair on Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress from October 2019 to March 2020 and served as the inaugural Robert Bosch Senior Fellow at Brookings from 2014 to 2019.
Prior to working at Brookings, she was a senior transatlantic fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), where she directed the influential Transatlantic Trends survey program. She also managed the “New Power, New Responsibility” project. Her areas of expertise include: trans-Atlantic relations; German foreign policy; NATO; the European Union’s foreign, security, and defense policy; international law; and human rights.
Dr. Stelzenmüller is the former director of GMF’s Berlin office. From 1994 to 2005, she was defense and international security editor in the political section of the German weekly DIE ZEIT; previously, she had covered human rights issues, war crimes tribunals, and humanitarian crises. From 1988 to 1989, she was a visiting researcher at Harvard Law School. She has also been a GMF campus fellow at Grinnell College in Iowa, a Woodrow Wilson Center public policy scholar in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Remarque Forum — a conference series of the Remarque Institute at New York University.
Dr. Stelzenmüller’s essays and articles, in both German and English, have appeared in a wide range of publications, including Foreign Affairs, Internationale Politik, the Washington Post and Süddeutsche Zeitung. She writes a monthly column in the Financial Times. Her dissertation, “Direkte Demokratie in den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika,” was published in 1994 by Nomos. She is also a frequent commentator on American and European radio and television, including PBS Newshour, National Public Radio, and the BBC. Stelzenmüller is an honorary governor of the Ditchley Foundation and a fellow of the Royal Swedish Society for War Sciences. Dr. Stelzenmüller holds a doctorate in law from the University of Bonn (1992), a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (1988), and a law degree from the University of Bonn (1985).

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-03-06 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, March 6, at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Paul-Anton Krüger, Parliamentary Correspondent in the Berlin Bureau of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Paul-Anton Krüger has been the Parliamentary Correspondent in the Berlin Bureau of the Süddeutsche Zeitung since the 2021 federal election. Previously he reported on political affairs and served as Deputy Head of the Foreign Policy Department, focusing on the Middle East and international security for three years. Before that, he spent four years in Cairo and was a correspondent covering large parts of the Arab world and Iran.
After graduating from the Alte Landesschule in Korbach, he studied journalism in Berlin and Munich. In August 2005, he joined the Süddeutsche Zeitung as a volunteer, worked as an editor from 2008, and as head of the foreign policy department from 2011. In the fall of 2007, Mr. Krüger was a guest editor at the Chicago Tribune as part of the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship, the German-American journalism scholarship of the International Journalism Programs e.V.

Streaming Boom and the Rise of German Talent
2023-03-07 11:00 - 12:00
Edward Berger’s German-language feature film “All Quiet On The Western Front” has proven to be a run-away sensation for Netflix since it was launched on the streaming platform last fall. It ranks fourth on the list of the most popular non-English language films on Netflix and has been in the streamer’s own top 10 in over 91 countries – including Germany, UK, US, Australia, France, Mexico, and South Korea. The film won seven prizes – including best picture – at the British Academy Film Awards last month and has been nominated for nine Oscars. The film offers a visceral depiction of life and death in the World War I trenches based on Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel and comes at a time when much of the world is gripped by the war in Ukraine.
What accounts for the success of this film? How has the entertainment industry changed with streaming services? And why do German films and series play such a major role on streaming services? To discuss these questions and the renaissance of German talent in front of and behind the camera, join the American Council on Germany, the German Film Office, and the Goethe Institut for a discussion with Sasha Bühler, the woman behind bringing “All Quiet” to Netflix. She serves as Director of International Films at Netflix. Sasha Bühler joined Netflix as the Director of International Films in December 2019. She started her career in production, first in news, then across documentaries, animation, and feature films. This was followed by positions as Head of Acquisitions at SquareOne Entertainment and the Munich Film Academy (HHF). Her most recent position was Head of Acquisitions and International Co-Productions at Constantin Film for eleven years.
Ms. Bühler grew up in the United States, graduated from Vassar College, and then lived in Germany for 30 years before moving to London for her current position. Recently she relocated to Berlin to spearhead the entire DACH film production for Netflix. She is active in several women’s networks and is a regular lecturer on women’s issues.

What’s Feminist about Germany’s Feminist Foreign Policy?
2023-03-08 11:00 - 12:00
On March 1, the German Federal Foreign Office released its framework for a Feminist Foreign Policy. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Svenja Schulze gave a joint statement saying that more equal societies suffer less from hunger and poverty and are, therefore, more stable. The new guidelines state that Germany will lobby to ensure that basic human rights such as access to food, healthcare, education, and security are more in focus globally, that women are better represented, and that Germany’s development funds are allocated to more projects that tackle gender inequality.
Coming from Germany, this framework gives fresh momentum to the feminist foreign policy movement, which was pioneered by a leftist Swedish government in 2014. But, what does a Feminist Foreign Policy actually mean? How can it be implemented? And, how does it differ from a values-oriented foreign policy? What does it look like in practice when addressing the war in Ukraine or the situation in Iran?
To address these questions, join us on International Women’s Day for a virtual discussion with Barbara Mittelhammer. She is is a Berlin-based independent consultant and political analyst who focuses on feminist foreign policy, human security, as well as gender in peace and security. Barbara Mittelhammer is an independent, Berlin-based political analyst and consultant. Her research focuses on feminist foreign policy, gender in peace and security, human security, and civil society’s role in foreign policy-making. She has published on applying feminist foreign policy toward Iran and Syria, and has worked with think tanks, foundations, international organizations, ministries, parliamentarians, and civil society organizations, such as Carnegie Europe, Heinrich-Böll Foundation, Friedrich-Ebert Foundation, the German Foreign Office, and GIZ. In addition, she is a certified mediator.
As director with the Agora Strategy Group, a political consultancy, Ms. Mittelhammer built up and managed the Agora Strategy Institute, the consultancy’s think tank unit with a far-reaching global network of experts, and led international client projects. She headed Agora Strategy’s Berlin office and was head of HR and team lead. Before that, she was a press officer and project manager with the Munich Security Conference, one of the world’s leading platforms for debating international security policy. Ms. Mittelhammer studied political science, international law, and cultural anthropology in Munich and Paris. She is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and German, and speaks Italian.

Germany’s China Policy: Has it Learned any Lessons from its Dependence on Russia?
2023-03-09 11:00 - 12:00
What was once seen as a mutually beneficial bilateral relationship between China and Germany is being put under the microscope as Berlin considers its complex economic relationship with the People’s Republic. Germany’s coalition government is working on a new national security strategy – and also a strategy for relations with China. Berlin’s re-evaluation of its economic and foreign policy regarding Beijing comes just as China’s parliament — the National People’s Congress — will meet for the first time since China’s “Covid Zero” policy was lifted.
On March 5th, some 3,000 deputies will gather to review the government’s performance over the past year and hear how the country’s top leaders plan to jumpstart the economy and aid recovery from the pandemic and the economic slowdown. The legislature will also formally name new officials to government posts, and over the course of the week China watchers will be able to gain some insights on some of the country’s new leaders – like Li Qiang, who’s poised to become the Premier, and the new foreign minister, Qin Gang.
One of the people watching the developments in Berlin and Beijing closely is ACG Young Leader alumna Dana Heide, who served as Handelsblatt’s China correspondent for three years before moving to Berlin. Dana Heide (2018 ACG Young Leader) has been the Handelsblatt’s capital correspondent in Berlin since the summer of 2022. Before that, she was Handelsblatt’s China correspondent in Beijing for three years. After studying Economics in Bremen, she joined Handelsblatt in 2011 – and already reported from Berlin from 2015 to 2019. She covers the German Foreign Office and focuses on international relations, especially German-Chinese relations, as well as the German government’s China policy.

In Focus: Russia’s War in Ukraine Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: One Year Later
2023-03-14 11:00 - 12:00
When Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, President Vladimir Putin thought his forces would take Kyiv and bring down the government within days. A year later, the war rages on. Ukraine has courageously defended itself against the Russian onslaught, but there is no end in sight.
The American Council on Germany and the Tennessee World Affairs Council are continuing their series of virtual events titled In Focus: Russia’s War in Ukraine to provide continued updates on the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine that has rocked the world order.
Join us on Tuesday, March 14 for a discussion with Dr. Liana Fix, a Fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Ambassador John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany. Dr. Liana Fix is a Fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations, based in Washington, DC. Previously, she served in the International Affairs Department of the Körber Foundation in Berlin. She is a political scientist and historian, and her work focuses on Russia and Eastern Europe, European security, arms control, and German foreign policy. She will be focusing on transatlantic policy toward Russia while at GMF. Dr. Fix has been published widely in academia, think tanks, and national and international media. She holds a doctorate degree from the Justus Liebig University Giessen and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Ambassador John C. Kornblum has a long record of service in the United States and Europe both as a diplomat and as a businessman. He is recognized as an eminent expert on U.S.-European political and economic relations, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2001. Before that, he occupied a number of high-level diplomatic posts, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs, Special Envoy for the Dayton Peace Process, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Process), Deputy U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and U.S. minister and deputy commandant of forces in divided Berlin.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-03-20 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, March 20, at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Dr. Anna Sauerbrey, Foreign Editor for the weekly DIE ZEIT and 2018 ACG Kellen Fellow. Dr. Anna Sauerbrey is the Foreign Editor at the weekly DIE ZEIT. Previously, she headed the opinion pages of Der Tagesspiegel and Tagesspiegel Causa, the paper’s online magazine.
She studied History, Political Science, and Journalism in Mainz and Bordeaux. From 2005 to 2009, she was a research assistant in the History Department at the University of Mainz. She worked as an intern at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and ZDF, among others, and as a freelancer for the Mainzer Rhein-Zeitung for several years. In 2009, Dr. Sauerbrey completed a traineeship at Der Tagesspiegel and became a staff member of its opinion/editorial department. In 2013, she was an Arthur F. Burns Fellow at the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 2018, she was awarded an Anna-Marie and Stephen M. Kellen Fellowship for Berlin-based journalists by the ACG to research religion’s role in American politics.

The EU-China Investment Agreement: A Window Into The German Debate On China
2023-03-29 11:00 - 12:00
In December 2020, at the end of her tenure as German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed through the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) – which had been negotiated in 35 meetings over a seven year period and was intended to replace individual bilateral treaties between EU member states and China. This move caused some consternation to the incoming Biden Administration, which signaled its desire to work with Europe to address common concerns regarding China’s economic practices even before entering office. However, due to actions taken by Beijing in the spring of 2021, there was a sudden spike in mistrust of China in Brussels and EU member states – and in May 2021 the European Parliament voted to freeze the ratification of the agreement.
Although CAI was short-lived, it offers an interesting window into the debate in Germany about German and European economic relations with China. Join the ACG for a discussion about the evolving debate in Germany about China with 2021 ACG DZ Bank Fellow Dr. Lily McElwee, who currently is a Fellow at the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Dr. Lily McElwee serves as a fellow in the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Her research interests include U.S.-China relations, EU-China relations, and global governance. She is also a DZ bank fellow in transatlantic business and finance with the American Council on Germany and a CSIS-USC U.S.-Korea NextGen scholar. Her work has appeared in International Affairs, The Diplomat, St Antony’s International Review, and E-International Relations. She holds a DPhil in China studies and an MSc from the University of Oxford and a BA with honors in political science from Stanford University.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-04-03 09:00 - 10:00
he ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, April 3, at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Journalist Miriam Hollstein, Chief Reporter for T-Online in Berlin and 2008 ACG McCloy Fellow. Miriam Hollstein serves as the Chief Reporter for T-Online in Berlin. Prior to this position, she served as the Chief Political Reporter for FUNKE Zentralredaktion from November 2020 to December 2021. She wrote for the Berliner Zeitung while still a student and worked as an editor for Internationale Politik. She worked as a foreign reporter for the Welt am Sonntag, and from 2006-2014 was a WELT-Gruppe’s domestic policy editor and reporter. From 2015-2020 she worked for the Bild am Sonntag, first as domestic policy and then from 2018 as chief reporter of politics. Her reporting brought her into regular contact with the office of the German Chancellor. Since March 2020 she works as a freelance writer and moderator.
In 2009 she published the first graphic biography of Angela Merkel, entitled “Miss Tschörmanie,” together with illustrator Heiko Sakurai. She appears regularly on the German news program “Phoenix,” where she speaks on political and societal issues. She regularly travels internationally for reporting assignments. In addition, she was a 2005 Marshall Memorial Fellow, a 2008 ACG McCloy Fellow, and was recognized in 2015 by the DEFA Stiftung (German Film Corporation Foundation) for her contribution to the preservation of German film heritage.

Iran in a Revolutionary Process and the Role of the West
2023-04-04 11:00 - 12:00
In recent years, there have been numerous waves of protests in Iran against the country’s corrupt theocracy. The death of Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, while in police custody for wearing an “improper” hijab, has triggered what has become the most severe and sustained political upheaval ever faced by the Islamist regime in Tehran. Waves of protests, led primarily by women, broke out immediately, sending some two-million people into the streets of 160 cities and small towns across the country. Hundreds of people have died, and thousands are in prison. The regime’s suppression and the opponents’ exhaustion have slowed the protests, but some analysts believe Iran has embarked on an uncharted and irreversible course.
How do we make sense of this extraordinary political happening? How close are the protesters to really dethroning Iran’s leaders? Is Iran on the verge of another revolution? To answer these questions, join the ACG for a virtual discussion with 2022 McCloy Global Trends Fellow Dr. Ali Fathollah-Nejad, Founder & Director, Center for Middle East and Global Order (CMEG). Dr. Ali Fathollah-Nejad is a German–Iranian political scientist focusing on Iran, the Middle East, and the post-unipolar world order. He is a 2022 ACG McCloy Fellow on Global Trends, exploring how transatlantic foreign policy toward authoritarian states could reconcile interests and values. Also, he is an Associate Fellow with the American University of Beirut’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (AUB-IFI), where he publishes a monthly brief entitled »Iran in Focus« (previously published as »Iran 1400 Brief«). He is the author of the much-acclaimed book Iran in an Emerging New World Order: From Ahmadinejad to Rouhani (2021), as well as initiator and co-host of the Berlin Mideast Podcast (Konrad Adenauer Foundation). He is also an affiliated researcher with the Centre d’Études de la Coopération Internationale et du Développement (CECID) at Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Freie Universität (FU) Berlin’s Center for Middle Eastern and North African Politics.
Dr. Fathollah Nejad has taught globalization and development in the Middle East, contemporary Iran, the Arab Revolts, and great-power politics at the University of Tübingen (as Senior Lecturer in Middle East and Comparative Politics), in the Ph.D. program of Qatar University’s Gulf Studies Center, at FU Berlin’s Center for Middle Eastern and North African Politics, the University of Westminster, SOAS, etc. Due to COVID-19, his Visiting Professorship at the Centre for International Studies of the University of Economics in Prague is postponed.
Dr. Fathollah Nejad is the former Iran expert at the Brookings Institution in Doha (BDC, 2017–20) and the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP, 2015–18). In 2020, he published two monographs: The Islamic Republic of Iran Four Decades On: The 2017/18 Protests Amid a Triple Crisis, where he suggested the start of a long-term revolutionary process in Iran, and The Politics of Culture in Times of Rapprochement: European Cultural and Academic Exchange with Iran (2015–16).
He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Department of Development Studies at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) and was the winner of 2016/17 post-doctoral fellowship of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Iran Project. His about 300 analytical pieces in English, German, and French have been translated into a dozen languages. A frequent speaker at academic conferences and political forums, he regularly contributes to leading international media outlets in English, German, and French – and is fluent in German, French, English, and Persian.

Resilience and Adaptation 2.0: The Future of Globalization
2023-04-05 11:00 - 12:00
Three years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the launch of our virtual transatlantic discussion series “Resilience and Adaptation” with 24 episodes covering a range of social, political, and economic implications, 1014 and the American Council on Germany are launching a new virtual discussion series to revisit some of the same themes and examine how much has (or has not) changed as the result of the pandemic. Which lessons have been learned? Have any changes proven to be sustainable?
Global supply chains suffered a major disruption as a result of the pandemic – which has been exacerbated with the war in Ukraine. Economic interdependence (in areas such as semi-conductors and more recently energy) has been called into question as there are calls for on-shoring and “friend-shoring” for critical sectors. With most factories and production back on-line at pre-pandemic levels, is global manufacturing back on track? What are the implications of the disruptions of recent years on trade? To answer these questions, join 1014 and the American Council on Germany for a virtual discussion with globalization experts Thorsten Benner and Dr. Shannon O’Neil. Thorsten Benner is Co-Founder and Director of the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin. His areas of interest include the interplay of the US, Europe and non-Western powers in the making of global (dis)order, German and European policy vis-à-vis China and Asia-Pacific, peace and security as well as data and technology politics. Prior to co-founding GPPi in 2003, he worked with the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, the UNDevelopment Programme in New York, and the Global Public Policy Project in Washington, DC.
His commentary has appeared in DIE ZEIT, International New York Times, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Handelsblatt, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, among others. His publications include The New World of UN Peace Operations: Learning to Build Peace? (Oxford University Press, 2011) and Critical Choices. The United Nations, Networks, and the Future of Global Governance (Ottawa, 2000).
Mr. Thorsten is an adjunct faculty member at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, where he has been involved since its founding in 2003. From 2011 to 2015, he worked with the founding team of the School of Public Policy at Central European University. He is a member of the Global Board of Directors of More in Common.
He studied political science, history, and sociology at the University of Siegen (Germany), the University of York (UK), and the University of California at Berkeley.
From 2001 to 2003, he was a McCloy Scholar at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he received a master’s degree in public administration. He received scholarships from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the German National Academic Foundation.
Dr. Shannon K. O’Neil is the Vice President, Deputy Director of Studies, and Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is an expert on global trade, supply chains, Mexico, Latin America, and democracy.
Dr. O’Neil is the author of The Globalization Myth: Why Regions Matter (Yale University Press, October 2022), which chronicles the rise of three main global manufacturing and supply chain hubs and what they mean for U.S. economic competitiveness. She also wrote Two Nations Indivisible: Mexico, the United States, and the Road Ahead (Oxford University Press, 2013), which analyzes the political, economic, and social transformations Mexico has undergone over the last three decades and why they matter for the United States. She is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, and a frequent guest on national broadcast news and radio programs. Dr. O’Neil has often testified before Congress, and regularly speaks at global academic, business, and policy conferences.
Dr. O’Neil has lived and worked in Mexico and Argentina. She was a Fulbright scholar and a Justice, Welfare, and Economics fellow at Harvard University, and has taught Latin American politics at Columbia University.
Before turning to policy, Dr. O’Neil worked in the private sector as an equity analyst at Indosuez Capital and Credit Lyonnais Securities. She holds a BA from Yale University, an MA in international relations from Yale University, and a PhD in government from Harvard University. She is a member of the board of directors of the Tinker Foundation.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-04-17 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, April 17 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Karina Mößbauer, Chief Reporter of the Politics Department/ Parliament Office for BILD Karina Mößbauer has been the Chief Reporter for the Politics Department and Parliament Office for BILD since 2015. In this role, she reports on the CDU/CSU and FDP and is also responsible for defense and security policy. In 2020, she produced and hosted BILD’s flagship weekly political debate show, “Die richtigen Fragen” (The Right Questions). In 2017 and 2018, she developed, produced, and hosted BILD’s “Fahrt ins Wochenende” (Driving into the Weekend), during which she would interview politicians on their last commute before the weekend. In 2017, she served as the U.S. Correspondent. She holds a master’s degree in International Journalism from Westminster University in London and a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Politics from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-04-24 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse.
Join us on Monday, April 24 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Henrike Roßbach, Deputy Head and Correspondent for the Parliamentary Office for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Henrike Roßbach is the Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Office for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. She has been a correspondent in the parliamentary office since the beginning of 2018. She reports on the FDP and the federal government’s financial and tax policies, and (together with her colleagues) observes and describes the political landscape. Prior to this, she was an economics correspondent in the parliamentary editorial department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for eight years, as well as the economics editor of the FAZ in Frankfurt. She studied economics at the University of Cologne and is also a graduate of the Cologne School of Journalism. During her studies, she spent a year in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO.

A Russian Plot to Build an Antiwar Coalition in Germany?
2023-05-01 09:00 - 10:00
Germany’s far-left Die Linke and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) could not be further apart on the political spectrum. But, they share some common ground: For months, figures in both parties have been described as Russlandversteher who are sympathetic to Moscow. At demonstrations across Germany, these political opposites have come together under the banner of peace in their opposition to providing heavy weapons to Ukraine. According to sensitive Russian documents obtained by European intelligence services and reviewed by The Washington Post, it is a goal of the Kremlin to build an antiwar coalition in Germany by uniting these political extremes.
Join the ACG for a virtual discussion about Moscow’s efforts to bring Die Linke and the AfD together with Washington Post reporter Catherine Belton. Catherine Belton reports on Russia for The Washington Post. She is the author of “Putin’s People,” a New York Times Critics’ Book of 2020 and a book of the year for the Times, the Economist, and the Financial Times. Ms. Belton previously was an investigations correspondent for Reuters and a Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-05-08 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse.
Join us on Monday, May 8 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with journalist Alfred Schmit. Alfred Schmit works as a journalist in Berlin. Since December 2018, he has been a radio correspondent in ARD’s capital studio in Berlin. Previously, he worked as London correspondent for ARD radio, for SWR Radio in the Economics department in Stuttgart and as newswriter for the German national TV news, tagesschau, in Hamburg. Mr. Schmit’s topics primarily include economics, finance, and consumer issues. Previously, the radio journalist worked at DEUTSCHE WELLE as presenter for the English-language section and a correspondent’s deputy in Bonn. A political scientist by training, he graduated from the Universität Heidelberg and completed journalism training at the Institute for the Promotion of Young Journalists in Munich (ifp). Mr. Schmit also spent a year studying in the United States at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-05-15 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, May 15 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Bojan Pancevski, Germany Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Bojan Pancevski is The Wall Street Journal’s Germany correspondent, covering all aspects of Europe’s largest economy and its influence on the rest of the continent and beyond. He also covers Europe at large across significant themes.
Before joining the WSJ, he covered Europe for the Times and the Sunday Times of London from Brussels and Vienna, focusing on a broad range of subjects, including the war in eastern Ukraine, the 2015 migration crisis, the rise of the Islamic State in Europe, Russian meddling in Europe, and Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Germany: Not Such a Reluctant Ally After All?
2023-05-17 10:00 - 11:00
This past weekend marked a major step in Germany’s commitment to supporting Kyiv in its battle against the Russian invasion. On Saturday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced an arms package to provide more tanks, armored vehicles, and air defense systems to Ukraine, totaling 2.7 billion euros – or nearly $3 billion. The announcement came just before talks between Chancellor Scholz and President Volodymir Zelinsky – and is seen as an attempt to “reset” the relationship between the two countries after Germany’s hesitancy to provide weapons. On Sunday, President Zelinsky was presented the prestigious Charlemagne Prize in the City of Aachen. The award is bestowed on someone who has promoted German unity, and past honorees have included Winston Churchill, Angela Merkel, and Bill Clinton.
Join us on Wednesday, May 17, at 10 am ET for a virtual discussion about Germany’s support of Ukraine with Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger, former Foreign Editor at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger (1985 ACG Legislative Aide Fellow) is a German journalist and political scientist. He is the former Foreign Editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, where he wrote about international politics. Before joining the newspaper’s editorial staff in 1986, Mr. Frankenberger gained deep insight into the U.S. political decision-making process when he worked as an assistant to a U.S. member of Congress. He was a Bosch Fellow at the Transatlantic Academy in Washington, DC, in 2011 and a Marshall Fellow at Harvard University in 1990. He serves on the Board of various institutions dealing with foreign and defense policy issues. Mr. Frankenberger earned a Master’s Degree in Political Science, Economics, and American Studies from Frankfurt University.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-05-22 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, May 22 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Melanie Amann, Co-Editor-in-Chief for Der Spiegel. Melanie Amann is a German journalist and lawyer. She is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the leading German weekly newspaper, Der Spiegel, and heads the publication’s Berlin office. She was born in Bonn and raised in Siegburg. She studied law at the University of Trier, Aix-Marseille III, and at the Humboldt University of Berlin.

Addressing Educator Shortages and Pandemic-Related Learning Loss
2023-05-31 11:00 - 12:00
While global challenges are addressed by national governments, increasingly subnational actors such as states, communities, and cities have needed to step up to take action when traditional nation-states have been unable to make progress due to political polarization and partisan gridlocks. This trend has also characterized transatlantic relations and the German-American partnership. The German-American State Legislator Dialogue draws on this notion, focusing on the role of state representatives from the United States and Germany in addressing common transatlantic challenges.
In both Germany and the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenges facing the education field. Teacher shortages, which were already apparent before the pandemic, have become an overwhelming challenge for educational systems. Extended school closures, hybrid learning arrangements, student disengagement, and mental health challenges have contributed to historic learning loss. These challenges are closely interlinked and require urgent action. What approaches have state legislators in Germany and the United States taken to support, train and retain educators? How might subnational governments identify innovative solutions to mitigate learning loss? How might effective policies on one side of the Atlantic be implemented or mirrored on the other? In this conversation with state legislators on both sides of the Atlantic, we will discuss the impact of the pandemic on education and opportunities for ensuring that all students have access to quality education in the wake of COVID-19.
Join the American Council on Germany and the Aspen Institute Germany for our next State-to-State: German-American State Legislator Dialogue for a discussion with German and American state legislators, including Senator Raumesh Akbari (D), Tennessee State Senate; Representative Edward DeLaney (D), Indiana House of Representatives; Jochen Ott (SPD), State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia; Andreas Sturm (CDU), State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg; and Representative Steven Ultrino (D), Massachusetts General Court. Raumesh Akbari, a proud Memphian and passionate advocate for justice and equality, serves in the Tennessee State Senate representing downtown Memphis and parts of Shelby County. Akbari, an attorney for her family’s small business, was elected to the State Senate in 2018 after serving three terms in the State House of Representatives. Currently the Senate Democratic Leader, Senator Akbari’s policy focus aims to improve student outcomes, reform outdated criminal justice rules, and expand middle-class security and opportunities to more Tennessee families while striving to represent the city of Memphis and her people with dignity and purpose.
Edward DeLaney has been a member of the Indiana House of Representatives since 2008. He currently serves as a member of the Education Committee as well as the Ways and Means Committee. He is also an alternate member of the Budget Committee and serves as the Assistant Democratic Caucus Chair. Representative DeLaney recently retired as a partner in the law firm of DeLaney and DeLaney.
Jochen Ott has been active in local politics for many years and previously served as Chairman of the Köln SPD before becoming a full-time politician as a member of the Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2010. Since then, he has focused on education policy as a member of the Education Committee. As Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of Social Democrats, he is in charge of all questions and political initiatives concerning equal opportunities in the area of education (early childcare, school, university, lifelong learning), as well as child welfare. Ott worked previously as a teacher at a school near Cologne.
Andreas Sturm has been a member of the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg, representing the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2021. He serves on the Committee for Education, Science, and Art, as well as the Committee on Social Affairs. Mr. Sturm previously worked as a secondary school teacher for English and religious education.
Steven Ultrino became State Representative for the 33rd Middlesex District after being elected to the Massachusetts General Court in November of 2014. A committed educator, he currently serves as Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Education. He previously served on the Malden School Committee and as Ward 2 Malden City Councilor. Representative Ultrino is currently an instructor at both Salem State University and his alma mater, Suffolk University, where he teaches courses on education and communication. His previous professional experience includes working as Director of Education for the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, teaching at Malden Catholic High School, and serving as a school principal and business manager at St. Mary’s Parish in Winchester.

The Biggest Science Scam Ever? Fake Scientific Papers Are More Prevalent Than You Might Think
2023-06-06 11:00 - 12:00
Disinformation and fake news are a cause for serious concern. This is true for the natural sciences as well – despite the abundance of peer-reviewed publications. A recent study indicates that nearly a third of the scientific papers that are published by the scientific and research community each year are fake. That could mean that there are as many as half a million bogus papers in circulation. From engineering and construction to the biomedical sector and beyond this abundance of fakes can have significant consequences for the scientific community and policy-makers alike.
How can one discern what is fake and what is not in the sciences? Who benefits from the falsehoods? What are the implications of a prevalence of falsified scientific papers – for academics, scientists, policy-makers, and the business community? For answers to these questions, join the American Council on Germany and the American Friends of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation on Tuesday, June 6, at 11 am ET for a virtual discussion about fake scientific papers with neuropsychologist Prof. Dr. Bernhard Sabel, Director of the Institute for Medical Psychology at the Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg. We will also be joined by Dr. Elisabeth Malsch, a leader in the forensics practice at Thornton Tomasetti in New York.. Dr. Elisabeth Malsch is a leader in the forensics practice at Thornton Tomasetti in New York. She has decades of experience in modeling the mechanical behavior of structures. For the past 13 years, she has focused on structural analysis and design, specializing in investigative projects and restoration and repair of a wide variety of structures. After completing her studies at Columbia University — where she earned a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees, and a doctorate in civil engineering and engineering mechanics — Dr. Malsch received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to conduct research at the Braunschweig University of Technology in Germany (2004-2005). She serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University in the Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Department and is the author of numerous technical papers and articles. In 2012, Dr. Malsch was named to Building Design + Construction magazine’s 40 Under 40 list and Engineering News-Record New York’s New York Top 20 Under 40. In 2013, she was included in Civil + Structural Engineer’s list of Rising Stars in Structural Engineering.
Prof. Dr. Bernard Sabel has been conducting research at the Institute for Medical Psychology at the Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg since 1992. His areas of research include neuroplasticity and the brain’s regenerative properties, especially with regard to vision recovery after damage to the visual cortex or damage due to strokes or glaucoma. Dr. Sabel has been the Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience since 1997, and his works have appeared in over 200 publications. He is also the lead author of a new report about fake studies. Dr. Sabel has been a Member of the Board of Governors of the U.S. International Brain Injury Association since 2008. He holds a Master’s in Psychobiology from the University of Düsseldorf and a Ph.D. from Clark University (Worcester, MA).

After Turkey’s Run-off Election: What Lies Ahead?
2023-06-09 11:00 - 12:00
On May 28, voters in Turkey returned to the polls to cast the deciding vote in the second round of presidential elections, the first run-off election in the country’s history. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defeated opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and stretched his rule into a third decade. Two weeks earlier, on May 14, tens of millions of Turkish voters delivered President Erdogan’s People’s Alliance a victory in parliament, where they will continue to hold a majority, albeit with a smaller margin.
Turkey’s elections have been described as the most important elections of 2023 in recognition of Turkey’s growing influence in regional and global affairs, from Ukraine to the Mediterranean and throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Join us on Friday, June 9, for a virtual discussion with Turkey expert Dr. Sinem Adar from the Center for Applied Turkey Studies at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP). We’ll talk about the election results and what they mean domestically and for the future of Turkish foreign policy. Dr. Sinem Adar is with the Center for Applied Turkey Studies of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). She focuses on Turkish domestic politics and foreign policy, and EU-Turkey relations. Before joining SWP, Dr. Adar was an Einstein Fellow at Humboldt University. She holds a Doctorate degree in Sociology from Brown University and a Master of Science in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2023-06-12 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, June 12 at 9:00 am ET for a Kaffeepause with Loveday Morris, The Washington Post’s Berlin bureau chief. Loveday Morris is The Washington Post’s Berlin bureau chief. Before moving to Germany in 2019, she spent a decade reporting in the Middle East, most recently in Jerusalem. She previously spent three years in Iraq as Baghdad bureau chief covering the country’s battles against the Islamic State, from Fallujah to Ramadi and Mosul. She started with The Post as a Beirut correspondent in 2013, largely covering Syria’s civil war. Before that, she freelanced from the region for publications, including the United Kingdom’s Independent newspaper. She began her career at Bloomberg News, covering financial news in London, before moving to the Middle East for the National newspaper in Abu Dhabi.

What to Expect from Ukraine’s Counteroffensive
2023-06-27 11:00 - 12:00
After months of planning, Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive to reclaim wide swaths of land occupied by Russian forces is progressing “slower than desired,” according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Intense battles are taking place in eastern and southern Ukraine, and some Western analysts have observed that Ukraine’s efforts are “not meeting expectations” on the battlefield because of the fortification of Russian lines of defense. The West has provided substantial military assistance for Kyiv’s counteroffensive – and appears committed to providing support for the long haul. With the counteroffensive still in its early stages, what can we expect?
Join us for a virtual discussion about the ongoing war in Ukraine on Tuesday, June 27, at 11:00 am ET with Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, Senior Advisor at Human Rights First and Retired Commanding General of United States Army Europe. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges served as Commanding General of the United States Army Europe from 2014 to 2017 before his retirement from the Army in early 2018. Based in Frankfurt, he is currently a Senior Advisor to Human Rights First and a NATO Senior Mentor for Logistics. General Hodges has also served in a variety of Joint and Army Staff positions, including Tactics Instructor; Chief of Plans, 2nd Infantry Division, in Korea; Aide-de-Camp to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe; Chief of Staff, XVIII Airborne Corps; Director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Coordination Cell on the Joint Staff; Chief of Legislative Liaison for the United States Army; and Commander of NATO Allied Land Command (İzmir, Turkey).
After his first assignment as an Infantry Lieutenant in Garlstedt, Germany, General Hodges commanded Infantry units at the Company, Battalion, and Brigade levels in the 101st Airborne Division, including Command of the First Brigade Combat Team “Bastogne” of the 101st Airborne Division in Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2004). His other operational assignments include Chief of Operations for Multi-National Corps – Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom (2005-2006) and Director of Operations, Regional Command South, in Kandahar, Afghanistan (2009-2010). General Hodges is co-author of the book Future War and the Defence of Europe, published by Oxford University Press.
