American Council On Germany

Politics, Power, and Influence: How Money Shapes U.S. Politics
2025-11-11 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
In the United States (and many countries), money has long played a central role in politics, shaping who gets elected, which policies are prioritized, and whose voices are heard. From campaign contributions to corporate lobbying, financial influence impacts the political system, often determining outcomes before the public even has a chance to weigh in.
Join us on November 11 for a discussion on the impact of campaign finance, lobbying, and corporate contributions on politics. Experts Julian Heissler and Ray Madoff will examine the ways financial interests shape legislation, sway political decisions, and ultimately affect the everyday lives of citizens. Julian Heissler is the International Correspondent of WirtschaftsWoche. Before returning to Berlin he reported from 2018 to 2025 from Washington, DC, as the magazine’s US Correspondent. Prior to this, he spent several years in Berlin writing about German federal politics for various media outlets. He studied Communication Studies, Political Science, and Philosophy at the Free University of Berlin and completed the Master’s program in Journalism at the Hamburg Media School. He also reported from countries such as China, Israel, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Finland. His book Dream and Nightmare: America and the Many Faces of Freedom was published in October 2023 and his most recent book Amerikas Oligarchen was published in October 2025.
Ray Madoff is a professor at Boston College Law School, where she teaches and writes in philanthropy policy, taxes, property, and estate planning. She is Co-founder and Director of the Boston College Law School Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good, a non-partisan think tank that convenes scholars and practitioners to explore questions regarding whether the rules governing the charitable sector best serve the public good. Her most recent book, The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy, was published in October 2025. Madoff is also the author of Immortality and the Law: The Rising Power of the American Dead (Yale University Press), which looks at how American law treats the interests of the dead and what this tells us about our values for the living. The Financial Times called it “a sparkling polemic.” She is also the lead author on one of the top treatises on estate planning entitled Practical Guide to Estate Planning (CCH). An experienced mediator, Ms. Madoff is a leading authority on the use of mediation to resolve will and trust disputes. Prior to teaching, she was a practicing attorney for nine years in New York and Boston.

Atlanta Event: Chancellor Merz’s First 180 Days: Policy, Politics, and Public Perception
2025-11-12 12:00 - 14:00
The Atlanta Warburg Chapter will host a lunch discussion with Anja Wehler-Schöck, International Editor at Der Tagesspiegel. Anja Wehler-Schöck joined the Editorial Board of Der Tagesspiegel as the International Editor in January 2025. She has been Head of International Politics at Der Tagesspiegel since August 2022. Prior to that, she worked as editor-in-chief of the IPG Journal, a debate platform for issues of international and European politics. She previously worked as a social affairs officer at the German Embassy in Washington and headed the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s office for Jordan and Iraq in Amman from 2012 to 2017.

Nashville Event: Chancellor Merz’s First 180 Days: Policy, Politics, and Public Perception
2025-11-13 13:30 - 15:00
The Nashville Warburg Chapter and the Max Kade Center for European and German Studies at Vanderbilt University will host a lunch discussion with Anja Wehler-Schöck, International Editor at Der Tagesspiegel. Anja Wehler-Schöck joined the Editorial Board of Der Tagesspiegel as the International Editor in January 2025. She has been Head of International Politics at Der Tagesspiegel since August 2022. Prior to that, she worked as editor-in-chief of the IPG Journal, a debate platform for issues of international and European politics. She previously worked as a social affairs officer at the German Embassy in Washington and headed the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s office for Jordan and Iraq in Amman from 2012 to 2017.

Boston Event: Chancellor Merz’s First 180 Days: Policy, Politics, and Public Perception
2025-11-14 12:00 - 14:00
The Boston Warburg Chapter, the German-American Business Council of Boston, and the German International School Boston will host a discussion and luncheon with Anja Wehler-Schöck, International Editor at Der Tagesspiegel,

Anja Wehler-Schöck joined the Editorial Board of Der Tagesspiegel as the International Editor in January 2025. She has been Head of International Politics at Der Tagesspiegel since August 2022. Prior to that, she worked as editor-in-chief of the IPG Journal, a debate platform for issues of international and European politics. She previously worked as a social affairs officer at the German Embassy in Washington and headed the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s office for Jordan and Iraq in Amman from 2012 to 2017.

32nd Annual John J. McCloy Awards Dinner
2025-11-14 18:00 - 22:00

Virtual Event- Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2025-11-17 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts discussions with a journalist based in Berlin on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, November 17, at 9:00 am for a Kaffeepause with Malte Lehming, Columnist for Tagesspiegel. Malte Lehming works as a columnist for the Tagesspiegel. From late 2000 to 2005, he was the newspaper’s Washington Bureau Chief. He joined the Tagesspiegel in 1991 as foreign policy editor — focusing on security policy, transatlantic relations, and the Middle East. From 1989 to 1991, he worked as a personal assistant and speechwriter for former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Mr. Lehming studied philosophy, German literature, and European history in Hamburg.

Phoenix Event: “Chancellor Merz’s First 180 Days: Policy, Politics, and Public Perception”
2025-11-17 18:00 - 19:30
The Phoenix Eric M. Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany will host a Discussion and Reception
with Anja Wehler-Schöck, International Editor at Der Tagesspiegel.
Anja Wehler-Schöck joined the Editorial Board of Der Tagesspiegel as the International Editor in January 2025. She has been Head of International Politics at Der Tagesspiegel since August 2022. Prior to that, she worked as editor-in-chief of the IPG Journal, a debate platform for issues of international and European politics. She previously worked as a social affairs officer at the German Embassy in Washington and headed the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s office for Jordan and Iraq in Amman from 2012 to 2017.

Let's Talk Democracy: Will International Law Prevail?
2025-11-18 11:00 - 12:00
In a time when multilateral cooperation faces significant challenges, the latest installment of the Let’s Talk Democracy series will explore how diplomacy and the rule of law can be strengthened. From conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza to potential tensions over Taiwan, the discussion will examine how the principle of “might makes right” can be resisted in favor of peace, justice, and stability.
Join Samuel Moyn (Yale University), an expert in constitutional and international law, and Alexander Görlach, journalist and adjunct professor of democratic theory at NYU Gallatin School, as they reflect on the state of the post-World War II international order. Samuel Moyn is the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University, where he also serves as head of Grace Hopper College. His forthcoming book is Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Hoard Power and Wealth — and What to Do About It, scheduled to appear from Farrar, Straus and Giroux in June 2026. Trained in modern European intellectual history, he works on political and legal thought in modern times and on constitutional and international law in historical and current perspective. His most recent book is Liberalism against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times (Yale University Press, 2023), based on the Carlyle Lectures in the History of Political Thought at the University of Oxford. Currently he is working on (different) projects constitutionalism and democracy, legal theory, and the Vietnam war. Mr. Moyn is a fellow of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Over the years he has written in venues such as the Atlantic, Boston Review, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Commonweal, Dissent, the Guardian, the London Review of Books, The Nation, The New Republic, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.
Alexander Görlach is an adjunct professor to NYU Gallatin School where he teaches democratic theory. Prior to that he had various positions as visiting scholar and as fellow at Harvard University in the United States, and Cambridge University and Oxford University in the United Kingdom. He is a senior fellow to the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs in New York and a senior advisor to the Berggruen Institute in Los Angeles. Dr. Görlach holds a ThD in comparative religion and a PhD in linguistics. His academic interests include democratic theory, politics and religion, and theories of secularism, pluralism and cosmopolitanism. In the academic year 2017-18 he was a visiting scholar at National Taiwan University and City University Hongkong.
Since then he focuses on the rise of China and what it means for the democracies in East Asia. Dr. Görlach is an honorary professor of ethics and theology at Leuphana University in Lüneburg, Germany. Alexander Görlach is the founder of the debate-magazine The European, that he also ran as its editor in chief from 2009 to 2015. Today he serves as an op-ed contributor to the New York Times, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, and the South China Morning Post. He is a columnist to the business magazine Wirtschaftswoche, Deutsche Welle and Focus Online. He is a frequent commentator on German News Channel WeLT TV.

Houston Event: “Chancellor Merz’s First 180 Days: Policy, Politics, and Public Perception”
2025-11-18 12:00 - 13:30
The Houston Eric M. Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany will host a Discussion and Luncheon with Anja Wehler-Schöck, International Editor at Der Tagesspiegel. There is no cost to attend this event. RSVP by November 17. Anja Wehler-Schöck joined the Editorial Board of Der Tagesspiegel as the International Editor in January 2025. She has been Head of International Politics at Der Tagesspiegel since August 2022. Prior to that, she worked as editor-in-chief of the IPG Journal, a debate platform for issues of international and European politics. She previously worked as a social affairs officer at the German Embassy in Washington and headed the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s office for Jordan and Iraq in Amman from 2012 to 2017.

San Francisco Event: Chancellor Merz’s First 180 Days: Policy, Politics, and Public Perception
2025-11-19 21:00 - 22:30
The San Francisco Warburg Chapter will host a discussion with Anja Wehler-Schöck, International Editor at Der Tagesspiegel.
Anja Wehler-Schöck joined the Editorial Board of Der Tagesspiegel as the International Editor in January 2025. She has been Head of International Politics at Der Tagesspiegel since August 2022. Prior to that, she worked as editor-in-chief of the IPG Journal, a debate platform for issues of international and European politics. She previously worked as a social affairs officer at the German Embassy in Washington and headed the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s office for Jordan and Iraq in Amman from 2012 to 2017.

DC Event: “The Next Frontier of Security: Managing Migration in a Changing World”
2025-11-20 08:00 - 09:30
The ACG and the Hanns Seidel Foundation will host a breakfast briefing with Stephan Mayer, Member of the German Bundestag (CSU), and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Interior (2018-2021), on “The Next Frontier of Security: Managing Migration in a Changing World”.
Please email events@acgusa.org for more information.
Stephan Mayer has been a Member of the German Bundestag (Federal Parliament) for the Altötting constituency in Bavaria since 2002. He serves as the Deputy Chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy, as well as a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Committee on Sport and Volunteering, and the Subcommittee on Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy. Mr. Mayer is also a Deputy Member of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy and the Committee on Internal Affairs, as well as the Chair of the German-Czech Parliamentary Group, and Deputy Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean.
Mr. Mayer previously served as Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of the Interior, Building, and Community under Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021, and was the Secretary General of the CSU in 2022. Outside of the Bundestag Mr. Mayer has served as the Deputy State Chairman of the Union of Expellees (UdV) since 2006. He was recently elected President of the Federation of Expellees (BdV) after having served as the Vice President since 2016.
Mr. Mayer studied Law at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich and has been a lawyer since 2000.

Meet a Bundestag Member: German Politics Today
2025-11-20 11:00 - 12:00
The American Council on Germany (ACG), the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG), and the German Studies Association (GSA) are launching a new virtual series, Meet a Bundestag Member: German Politics Today. The series offers students of German language and culture the chance to engage directly with members of the German Bundestag on timely political issues while practicing their German language skills.
The second session will take place on November 20 at 11:00 AM ET and will feature Elisabeth Kaiser, Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany and Member of the Bundestag, who will join ACG President Dr. Steven E. Sokol for a 45-minute moderated discussion — held in German — on the history, significance, and ongoing legacy of German reunification, incorporating questions posed by the audience.
The reunification of Germany marked a pivotal moment in European history, ending decades of division and reshaping the political, economic, and social landscape of the country. This session will explore the challenges and opportunities that arose during the reunification process, the enduring impact on Germany’s domestic and foreign policy, and the lessons it offers for democratic societies navigating periods of transformation.
Following each event, the conversations will also be released as podcasts, making them easily accessible for members, students, and educators to use in the classroom. Elisabeth Kaiser has served since May 2025 as Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany. A dedicated Social Democrat, she has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2017, representing Thuringia and serving in various leadership positions, including Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (2023–2025) and Deputy Domestic Policy Spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group (2021–2023). She is also SPD leader for the Gera district and spokesperson for the group of SPD Bundestag members from Thuringia.
​In addition to her parliamentary work, Ms. Kaiser is the Deputy Chair of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief Supporters’ Association in Saxony/Thuringia, Co-Spokesperson for the Gera Railway Alliance, a member of the SPD Economic Forum’s Political Advisory Committee, and an associate member of the SPD Executive Committee in Thuringia. She holds degrees in Political and Administrative Sciences from the University of Potsdam and in Governance and Public Policy from the University of Erfurt.

Virtual Event - Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2025-11-24 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts discussions with a journalist based in Berlin on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, November 24, at 9:00 am for a Kaffeepause with Malte Lehming, Columnist for Tagesspiegel. Malte Lehming works as a columnist for the Tagesspiegel. From late 2000 to 2005, he was the newspaper’s Washington Bureau Chief. He joined the Tagesspiegel in 1991 as foreign policy editor — focusing on security policy, transatlantic relations, and the Middle East. From 1989 to 1991, he worked as a personal assistant and speechwriter for former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Mr. Lehming studied philosophy, German literature, and European history in Hamburg.

NYC Event "Chancellor Merz’s First 180 Days: Policy, Politics, and Public Perception"
2025-11-24 12:00 - 13:30
The American Council on Germany will host luncheon and discussion with Anja Wehler-Schöck, International Editor at Der Tagesspiegel on “Chancellor Merz’s First 180 Days: Policy, Politics, and Public Perception”.
Anja Wehler-Schöck joined the Editorial Board of Der Tagesspiegel as the International Editor in January 2025. She has been Head of International Politics at Der Tagesspiegel since August 2022. Prior to that, she worked as editor-in-chief of the IPG Journal, a debate platform for issues of international and European politics. She previously worked as a social affairs officer at the German Embassy in Washington and headed the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s office for Jordan and Iraq in Amman from 2012 to 2017.

Virtual Event - What's Next for Ukraine?
2025-12-05 11:00 - 12:00
Efforts to end the war in Ukraine have gained new momentum in recent days, spurred by several newly developed peace proposals circulating among key international stakeholders. As battlefield dynamics evolve and diplomatic channels cautiously reopen, policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic are reassessing what a viable settlement might look like – and what risks or opportunities these emerging plans present.
Join us for a timely virtual discussion with ACG Board member Lieutenant General Ben Hodges (ret.) to assess the unfolding events, examine the substance and strategic implications of the latest peace initiatives, and explore the prospects for a durable and just peace in Ukraine. This conversation will provide essential context on the shifting geopolitical landscape, the interests driving each actor, and what the coming months may hold for Ukrainian sovereignty, European security, and U.S. policy. Lieutenant General (ret.) Ben Hodges is the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe (2014-2017). He is a Distinguished Fellow with GLOBSEC and consults for several companies on Europe, NATO, and the European Union. He is co-author of the book Future War and the Defense of Europe. Lt. Gen. Hodges has a regular presence in U.S. and international media, where he offers insight and analysis on NATO, U.S. and European security, the Russian war against Ukraine, the greater Black Sea and Baltic Sea Regions, the Israel-Hamas war, the U.S. Election and its implications for transatlantic security, human rights, and other related geostrategic topics.
He most recently served as NATO Senior Mentor for Logistics. Prior to that, he was an Advisor to Human Rights First, a nonprofit, nonpartisan international human rights organization based in the United States. Before joining Human Rights First, Lt. Gen. Hodges held the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). Lt. Gen. Hodges graduated from the United States Military Academy in May 1980 and was commissioned in the Infantry.

NYC Event: Fireside Chat with Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller
2025-12-08 12:00 - 13:30
The ACG will host a discussion and luncheon with Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller, Director and Senior Fellow of Foreign Policy at the Center on the United States and Europe and Fritz Stern Chair on Germany and Transatlantic Relations at The Brookings Institution (1993 ACG Young Leader). Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller (1993 ACG Young Leader) is an expert on German, European, and transatlantic foreign and security policy and strategy. She is the director of the Center on the United States and Europe and the inaugural holder of the Fritz Stern Chair on Germany and trans-Atlantic Relations at Brookings. 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, Dr. Stelzenmüller 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: transatlantic 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. She has worked in Germany and the United States, and speaks English, French, German, and Spanish. 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).

NYC Event: “The China Challenge: A German Perspective”
2025-12-11 18:00 - 19:30
The ACG will host a discussion and reception with Metin Hakverdi, Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation in the Federal Foreign Office and Member of the German Bundestag (SPD) on “The China Challenge: A German Perspective”.
Metin Hakverdi serves as the Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation for the German Government. He has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2013, and currently serves on the Bundestag’s Committee on European Union Affairs as well as the Budget Committee. He is the Deputy Chairman of the German-American Parliamentary Friendship Group, Chairman of the USA Discussion Group of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, and a member of the Board of Atlantik-Brücke. Mr. Hakverdi was a John F. Kennedy Memorial Policy Fellow at Harvard University.
Before being elected to the Bundestag, Mr. Hakverdi was a member of the Parliament of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg from 2008 to 2013. He attended high school in Simi Valley, California, in 1985/86 and studied Law at the Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel and Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law.

Virtual Event - Inside the New U.S. National Security Strategy: Priorities, Risks, and Implications for Europe
2025-12-18 11:00 - 11:30
The recent release of the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy marks a significant moment in U.S. foreign and defense policy, outlining how the administration views the global threat environment and America’s role within it. The strategy addresses great-power competition, alliances, economic security, and the use of American power at a time of heightened geopolitical tension – from ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East to strategic rivalry with China.
Join 1014 and the American Council on Germany on December 18 for a virtual discussion with leading foreign policy and national security experts Nico Lange and Robin Quinville, who will unpack the key priorities and assumptions of the new strategy – and the implications for the transatlantic partnership. This timely conversation will provide an initial assessment of how this new strategy redefines U.S. commitments to allies and partners, and what it signals about the Trump administration’s approach to diplomacy, deterrence, and military engagement. Nico Lange is a Senior Fellow at the Munich Security Conference and a non-resident Senior Fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington, D.C. He teaches at the Chair of Military History at the University of Potsdam and at the Hertie School of Governance. From 2019 to 2022, he headed the management team at the German Federal Ministry of Defense. Previously, Mr. Lange worked in German politics and for the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in the United States and Ukraine. He is fluent in Ukrainian and Russian and is currently researching military strategy, cybersecurity, and military technology on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Robin Quinville is the former Director of the Wilson Center’s Global Europe Program. She spent more than 30 years as a U.S. diplomat, having served primarily in Europe – including postings to two multilateral organizations (the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and NATO) and bilateral postings to Cyprus, Bosnia, Greece, the United Kingdom, and Germany. She also spent a year in Baghdad, Iraq. In Washington, she directed the Office of Western European Affairs at the Department of State and served as a Wilson Center State Department Fellow for a year. Her last foreign posting was as the Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany.

Virtual - Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2026-01-05 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts discussions with a journalist based in Berlin on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, January 5, at 9:00 am for the first Kaffeepause of 2026 with Julian Heissler, International Correspondent for WirtschaftsWoche. Julian Heissler is the International Correspondent of WirtschaftsWoche. Before returning to Berlin, he reported from 2018 to 2025 from Washington, DC, as the magazine’s US Correspondent. Prior to this, he spent several years in Berlin writing about German federal politics for various media outlets. He studied Communication Studies, Political Science, and Philosophy at the Free University of Berlin and completed the Master’s program in Journalism at the Hamburg Media School. He also reported from various countries including China, Israel, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Finland. His book Dream and Nightmare: America and the Many Faces of Freedom was published in October 2023, and his most recent book Amerikas Oligarchen was published in October 2025.

Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2026-01-12 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts discussions with a journalist based in Berlin on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, January 12, at 9:00 am for a Kaffeepause with Anja Wehler-Schöck, International Editor at Der Tagesspiegel Anja Wehler-Schöck joined the Editorial Board of Der Tagesspiegel as the International Editor in January 2025. She has been Head of International Politics at Der Tagesspiegel since August 2022. Prior to that, she worked as editor-in-chief of the IPG Journal, a debate platform for issues on international and European politics. She previously worked as a social affairs officer at the German Embassy in Washington and headed the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s office for Jordan and Iraq in Amman from 2012 to 2017.

NYC Event - TikTok Voting: An Institutional and Behavioral Look at Germany’s Young Electorate
2026-01-15 12:00 - 13:30
The American Council on Germany, The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and The German Center for Research and Innovation New York (DWIH) will host a discussion and luncheon on “TikTok Voting: An Institutional and Behavioral Look at Germany’s Young Electorate” with Prof. Dr. Thorsten Faas, Hannah Arendt Visiting Chair for German and European Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.
Professor Dr. Thorsten Faas is one of Germany’s most renowned election researchers. He is currently a visiting professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He holds the Hannah Arendt Visiting Chair for German and European Studies, which is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). His research focuses on electoral politics and campaign communications, particularly as they relate to young people and German elections. Faas is one of the principal investigators of the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES) and a member of the Planning Committee for Module 7 of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES).
After studying political science in Bamberg and at the London School of Economics, he received his doctorate from the University of Duisburg-Essen in 2008. After working in Bamberg, Duisburg-Essen and Mannheim, he joined Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in 2012. Since 2017, he has been teaching and researching as a professor and head of the Centre for Political Sociology of the Federal Republic of Germany at the Free University of Berlin. His academic articles have been published in the American Political Science Review, West European Politics, the European Journal of Political Research, the Journal of European Public Policy, Electoral Studies, the International Journal of Public Opinion Research, and German Politics. In addition, Prof. Dr. Faas also works as a consultant for political institutions and the media.

Virtual Event - Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2026-01-20 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts discussions with a journalist based in Berlin on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Tuesday, January 20, at 9:00 am for a Kaffeepause with Paul-Anton Krüger, Editor for Der Spiegel.
Paul-Anton Krüger has been an Editor at SPIEGEL’s capital city office since January 2025. He was the Parliamentary Correspondent in the Berlin Bureau of the Süddeutsche Zeitung from September 2021 to December 2024. He previously 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 as 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.

Virtual Event - Venezuela in 2026: What Do Recent Developments Mean for the Region and for Europe?
2026-01-21 11:00 - 12:00
Earlier this month, the United States carried out a military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, sending shockwaves through global politics and raising intense debate over sovereignty and international law.
Europe has responded by reinforcing its longstanding restrictive measures — including travel bans and asset freezes on Venezuelan officials — aimed at pressuring Caracas to respect democracy and human rights, while also increasing support for those affected by the deep socio-economic crisis. In recent years the Venezuela crisis had exacerbated migration flows, making Venezuelans one of the largest groups seeking asylum in the EU, which continues to strain EU migration and integration systems. European governments are also watching for broader geopolitical fallout, as Latin American reactions vary and tensions with Russia and other powers complicate cooperation on energy and security issues. Overall, developments in Venezuela could influence Europe’s foreign policy priorities, balancing pressure for democratic reforms with energy market stability and multilateral engagement.
Join us for a discussion about the situation in Venezuela and the implications of recent developments for Europe with Latin America and foreign policy expert Irmgard Maria Fellner on Wednesday, January 21 at 11 am ET. Irmgard Maria Fellner currently serves as a Visiting Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, SWP), with a special focus on Latin America, critical minerals, and global affairs. Ms. Fellner studied Humanities and Political Science, and worked for the European Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly before joining the German Foreign Service in 1993. Her previous postings include German Ambassador to Chile, Director for Federal Foreign Cultural Policy, Deputy Chief of Mission to Italy and San Marino, Head of the Office of Transatlantic Coordinator Karsten D. Voigt. From 2007 to 2010, she served as an Advisor to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. She also worked on European Foreign and Security Policy and Afghanistan and served in Brazil. During her posting in Washington, D.C. (1999-2002), she was the German Observer to the Organization of American States (OAS).

NYC Event - The Global Challenge to Democracy and Lessons for Renewal
2026-01-22 18:00 - 20:00
The ACG and 1014 will host a discussion and reception with Dr. John K. Glenn, George Washington University and Ksenia Iliuk, Co-Founder and COO of Let’s Data. Dr. John K. Glenn is a Lecturer at the Elliott School for International Affairs at George Washington University, and has over 20 years of experience on democracy and transatlantic relations in the nonprofit, foundation, and academic sectors. He served until recently as the Senior Director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). For his work at NED, he was sanctioned by the Russian Foreign Ministry and banned from travel to the country.
Dr. Glenn previously served as Policy Director at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, Director of Foreign Policy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and Executive Director of the Council for European Studies. He has testified before Congress on America’s image in the world and is the author of Framing Democracy: Civil society and civic movements in Eastern Europe, published by Stanford University Press.
Ksenia Iliuk is the Co-Founder and COO of Let’s Data, a company she co-founded in wartime Ukraine where she leads research and product development on detecting information operations, working closely with governmental and enterprise clients. She has over ten years of experience analyzing information operations in Europe, previously heading research at Detector Media in Ukraine. Ms. Iliuk also worked with multiple European governments on countering online threats. She was recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list for her work.

Virtual Event - Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2026-01-26 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts discussions with a journalist based in Berlin on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, January 26, at 9:00 am for a Kaffeepause with Vladimir Balzer, Award Winning Journalist and Moderator, Deutschlandradio. Vladimir Balzer is an award-winning radio journalist and moderator at Deutschlandradio. He grew up in Leipzig and studied in Dublin, Venice, and Leipzig. He began his career as a presenter, reporter, and editor at Deutschlandradio and MDR. Mr. Balzer hosts, among other programs, the daily program “Fazit – Kultur vom Tage” on Deutschlandfunk Kultur. In 2022, he was selected to be a Kellen Fellow by the American Council on Germany. In 2023, he started as a correspondent at Deutschlandradio’s main studio in Berlin. He is known as a commentator for German Television, such as ZDF. He also regularly reports for his broadcaster from the United States.

Virtual - One Year of Trump; One Year of Merz: How Do Germans and Americans View Foreign Policy?
2026-01-27 12:00 - 13:00
One year into the current U.S. and German administrations, the transatlantic relationship is once again at a critical moment. With President Donald Trump back in the White House and Chancellor Friedrich Merz leading Germany, both countries are navigating a rapidly changing global landscape shaped by geopolitical uncertainty, shifting alliances, and growing public debate about international responsibility. As Washington and Berlin reassess their roles on the world stage, public opinion matters more than ever.
Join us tomorrow, January 27, at 12:00 pm ET, for a virtual event exploring the latest findings from The Berlin Pulse 2025/26, the annual foreign policy survey published by the Körber-Stiftung and the Pew Research Center. We will be joined by Jonathan Lehrer, Program Manager for International Affairs at the Körber-Stiftung, and Jacob Poushter, Associate Director at the Pew Research Center.
Jonathan Lehrer is Program Manager for International Affairs at the Körber-Stiftung, where he works on the Emerging Middle Powers Initiative and serves as Editor of The Berlin Pulse, the foundation’s annual foreign policy publication. Before joining Körber, Mr. Lehrer worked at the Professional Briefing China. He also gained professional experience at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), and the German Bundestag. He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Technical University of Dresden, and spent semesters abroad at Qingdao University and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).
Jacob Poushter is an Associate Director at the Pew Research Center. He is an expert in international survey research and writes about international public opinion on a variety of topics, including the international image of the United States and perceptions of global threats. He is also responsible for designing survey questionnaires, managing survey projects, analyzing data, and developing topics for the annual Global Attitudes Survey. Mr. Poushter received a Master’s degree in International Affairs from American University and a Bachelor’s degree in History from Williams College. He is also an author of studies on global attitudes of cultural change, views of the American-German relationship. He regularly talks about the Center’s findings in print and broadcast media and has participated in numerous presentations and panels in Washington, DC and around the world.

NYC Event: Fireside Chat and Luncheon with ACG's Chairman Ambassador John B. Emerson
2026-01-30 12:00 - 14:00
The American Council on Germany will host a Fireside Chat and Luncheon with Ambassador John B. Emerson, Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Vice Chairman at Capital Group International, and Chairman of the American Council on Germany. Space is limited.
Ambassador John B. Emerson was named Chairman of the American Council on Germany in January 2018. He is Vice Chairman at Capital Group International. Previously, he was the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 2013 to 2017. In 2015, Ambassador Emerson received the State Department’s Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service, an award given annually to one non-career Ambassador. In 2017, the Secretary of the Navy and the Director of the CIA awarded him their highest civilian honors for his service.
Prior to accepting the ambassadorial posting, Amb. Emerson was President of Private Client Services for the Capital Group Companies. Before joining Capital, he was Deputy Assistant to President Clinton where he coordinated his economic conferences, served as the president’s liaison to the nation’s governors, and led the administration’s efforts to obtain congressional approval of the GATT Uruguay Round Agreement and the extension of China s MFN trading status. Additionally, he was appointed by President Obama to serve on his Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. Before working in the Clinton White House, he served as Los Angeles Chief Deputy City Attorney and was a partner in the law firm of Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg, and Phillips.
In addition to his role as Chairman of the American Council on Germany, he serves on the boards of the Pacific Council on International Policy and the German Marshall Fund of the United States and is a long serving member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He holds an honorary doctorate from Hamilton College, a juris doctorate degree from the University of Chicago, and a BA in Philosophy from Hamilton College.

Virtual Event - Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2026-02-02 09:00 - 10:00
The ACG regularly hosts discussions with a journalist based in Berlin on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, February 2, at 9:00 am for a Kaffeepause with Nette Nöstlinger, Reporter for Politico. Nette Nöstlinger is a Politics Reporter for Politico Europe in Berlin, where she keeps an eye on all things relevant to an international audience interested in the EU’s biggest economy. Her coverage has ranged from the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to Germany’s fiscal and military U-turn in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She was trained at Reuters with stints in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Brussels. She grew up in Antwerp with a Belgian father and an Austrian mother.

NYC Event: "Digital Sovereignty and the EU’s Digital Omnibus Package: A New Era for Digital Politics?"
2026-02-03 08:00 - 09:30
The American Council on Germany and the American Business Forum on Europe will host a Breakfast Briefing with Oliver Süme
Partner at Fieldfisher and Chair of the Board of the Internet Industry Association (eco) on “Digital Sovereignty and the EU’s Digital Omnibus Package: A New Era for Digital Politics?”
On November 19, the European Commission unveiled its Digital Omnibus Package – a sweeping initiative to reorganize and modernize Europe’s digital regulatory landscape. At the same time and in the light of the recent geopolitical developments, the European Commission is pushing for increased digital sovereignty, aiming to strengthen Europe’s capacity in cloud infrastructure and AI. What does this mean for U.S. companies operating in or with Europe? Is this a move toward digital deregulation and a rejection of the dominance of U.S. tech companies?
Join us to learn about the proposed changes that come with the Digital Omnibus and how digital sovereignty might translate into a new era of European digital politics.
Oliver Süme is a Partner at the European law firm Fieldfisher and Chair of the Board of the Internet Industry Association. He advises his international clients on all legal challenges in Technology Law, in particular IT contract law, data protection and legal issues relating to IT security. Mr. Süme is also Chair of the Board of eco – Association of the Internet Industry and heads the data economy committee of EuroISPA, the European umbrella organization of internet service providers.
Please email events@acgusa.org for RSVP information.

Virtual Event - Kaffeepause: What's Abuzz in Berlin?
2026-02-09 09:00
The ACG regularly hosts discussions with a journalist based in Berlin on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse. Join us on Monday, February 9, at 9:00 am for a Kaffeepause with ACG Fellowship alumna Miriam Hollstein, Chief Political Reporter for Stern. Miriam Hollstein serves as the Chief Political Reporter for Stern. Before this, she was the Chief Reporter from January 2022 to September 23 at 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 correspondent for Welt am Sonntag, and from 2006-2014 was a WELT-Gruppe’s domestic policy editor and reporter. From 2015 to 2020, she worked for Bild am Sonntag, first as a 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.
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 preserving German film heritage.
