Updates

Here you'll find all our work in one place, from short articles to long reports, infographics, expert interviews, animated videos, and full-length documentaries.

Politics & Society

Substance, Not Semantics

Seizing the EU-Canada Moment

Rather than focus on the undefined label of “associate membership,” the EU and Canada can use the current moment to deepen practical cooperation in defense, trade, education, the Arctic, and critical minerals.

Politics & Society

A Red Line for the Blue Wave

The Paradox of the AfD’s Ostalgie

The AfD uses symbols and rhetoric to lay claim to East Germany’s democratic revolution while borrowing governing instincts from the authoritarian state it condemned. A recent rally exposed that contradiction—and the limits of “Ostalgie” as the party pushes for power in the East.

Politics & Society

The Nuclear Option

Germany’s Green Party Contends with Changing Public Opinion

Within Europe, Germany has remained an outlier in its staunch stance against nuclear energy, a position which has become a core pillar of its national policies, but tides may be turning.

Politics & Society

Meddle Meets Mettle

The European Democracy Shield in Hungary and Slovenia

At first glance, the recent elections in Hungary and Slovenia had little in common. The former was widely regarded as a high-stakes moment for the future of Hungarian democracy and the unity of the EU; the latter represented a rather routine exercise of democratic choice.

Politics & Society

Open Debate and Unlikely Bedfellows

The CDU’s Fight Against the Far-Right

In his first campaign to become chairman of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in 2018, Friedrich Merz, now Chancellor of Germany, made two promises: get his party back up to 40% of the national vote share and halve support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Merz lost...

Politics & Society

A Kettle Full of Steam

Friedrich Merz’s Contradictory Trump Strategy

In a high school auditorium, against a backdrop littered with children’s artwork, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz undid a year’s worth of goodwill with U.S. President Donald Trump in one sitting.

Politics & Society

Generation Germany

The AfD’s Far-Right Rebrand

Before the sun rose on the western German city of Giessen on November 29, individuals were lining the streets armed with signs reading “New Name, Same Fascists” and “No Tolerance for Intolerance.”

Politics & Society

A Nameless Alliance

The BSW Without Sahra Wagenknecht

Just three months after Left Party star Sahra Wagenknecht announced she was leaving the party after 16 years of service, she formed her own political group.

Future Leadership

From Idea to Impact

How Transatlantic Rights Philosophies Shape Innovation

“Americans innovate while Europeans regulate.” This old trope misses a fundamental point. Both peoples are actually powerhouses of innovation. But it is their respective fundamental societal beliefs in individual and government responsibility that steer their creative energies in different paths.

Politics & Society

United in Division

Perspectives on 35 Years of German Reunification

Germany celebrates 35 years of unity on October 3, 2025, following 41 years of division as the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). In the last three decades, substantial progress has been made to foster German unity culturally, economically...

Politics & Society

Lithium Rising

The Race for Critical Minerals

Journey to the frontlines of the 21st-century resource scramble—from Bolivian salt flats to Congolese cobalt mines—uncover how lithium, cobalt, and nickel have become central to clean energy, national security, and economic power. Through vivid storytelling, original photography, and information...

Democracy

Pianissimo:

Brussels’ Silence on Italy’s Democratic Decline

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, once heralded as a danger to EU cohesion, has become Brussels’ favored bridge-builder.

Politics & Society

A Green Light for Lichtenberg

Interview with Elisabeth Giesemann

Lichtenberg, tucked into the eastern edge of Berlin, has long been home to strong political forces. During World War II, a Wehrmacht officers’ mess hall was there, and, once the war ended, the main office of the city’s Soviet military administration set up shop in the same building. After the...

Politics & Society

Red Light

The Collapse of Germany’s Traffic Light Coalition

Just a day after Donald Trump’s decisive U.S. presidential win, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ushered in the end of his own government with the firing of his finance minister and coalition partner, Christian Lindner. Lindner, representing the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), objected...

Politics & Society

Now Charging

Tariffs Rev Up Transatlantic Alignment on Chinese Electric Vehicles

The EU announced on August 20 that it would be lowering its proposed tariffs on Tesla electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in China. The notice, the latest in a series of seismic shifts in European EV policy, was emblematic of the challenging position in which the bloc now finds itself. In an effort...

Politics & Society

Rhetoric Meets Reality

NATO’s Indo-Pacific Turn

Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted at a Wilson Center event in June that “the growing alignment between Russia and its authoritarian friends in Asia makes it even more important that we work closely with our friends in the Indo-Pacific.”

Politics & Society

Security over Scandal

AfD Successes from Brussels to Brandenburg

Germany’s far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is no stranger to controversy. The party is regularly accused of xenophobic language and anti-migrant policies, and has repeatedly played down the significance of Germany’s Nazi past.

Politics & Society

The Gambler

“I’ve decided to give you once more the opportunity to decide your parliamentary future by vote, I therefore have decided to dissolve the National Assembly tonight.” In a televised address to 11 million of his citizens, French President Emmanuel Macron made the historic decision on the heels of the...

Politics & Society

France’s Litmus Test

Macron’s Government and the European Elections

Of the 720 seats up for grabs in the upcoming European elections, 81 of those will be for French members of the European Parliament. For French voters, the stakes for this election are high, as this is the first time they are able to vote since the 2022 presidential elections.

Politics & Society

Addressing the Global Digital Skills Gap

U.S. and EU Member State Perspectives

Global labor markets face massive skill gaps and labor shortages that continue to grow with the onset of technological change and digital adoption. Given existing disconnects among skills development, workforce programs and postsecondary credentialing initiatives, the skills gaps will continue to...

Politics & Society

Generative AI and the Future of Work

Geography Matters

It is well known that digital technological changes affect the labor market, but the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) will be more far-reaching. AI is a general-purpose technology that is touching nearly every sector and occupation. Unlike other digital technologies, it does not just automate...

Politics & Society

There is no Sustainable Future of Work if Young People Are Left Behind

The debate on the future of work is gaining momentum on both sides of the Atlantic as several initiatives are animating the conversation. The discussion not only focuses on the impact new technologies have on on the future of work but also considers consequences for the future of social protection...

Politics & Society

Putting Immigrant-Origin Workers at the Center of the Future of Work Discussion in the United States

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, two themes dominated the discussions about the future of work in the United States. One focused on the impact of an aging population, declining birthrates and falling labor force participation of white men on the slow growth of the workforce.

Politics & Society

Unlocking Third-Country Nationals' Full Potential to Feed in the EU Future of Work

In her 2022 State of the Union address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that 2023 would be the European Year of Skills. She listed several measures needed to counter shortfalls in the workforce and stressed the need to attract workers with the right skills to help...

Politics & Society

Dual Vocational Training

A Key Education Model to Solve the Unemployment Paradox in Spain

“Instead of millions of people looking for jobs, millions of jobs are looking for people in Europe.” This statement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her 2023 State of the Union address exemplifies the employment bonanza Europe is experiencing today. Paradoxically, a few...

Politics & Society

The Future of Work in the Twin Transition to Green and Digital

The concept that the digital and energy transitions go hand in hand is rapidly transforming the EU economy and labor markets. New technologies and new forms of work stemming from digitalization, as well as climate change and the effort to move to a low-carbon economy are leading the twin transition....

Politics & Society

Farmers, Fatherland, and the Far Right: How the AfD Cultivates an Ethnonationalist Agenda

In November 2023, Germany’s Constitutional Court ruled that €60 billion in special funds originally designated for Covid-19 relief could not be redirected to the governing coalition’s landmark climate and transformation fund. This left an estimated €17 billion hole in Germany’s tightly regulated...

Politics & Society

Cleantech Entrepreneurship Education

Building a Transnational Initiative

Francesco Matteucci is an innovation manager with 20 years of experience spent as a researcher in materials science, as a Corporate R&D Manager within the field of technologies for renewable energy production and storage, and as an intermediary of knowledge trying to exploit the research results...

Politics & Society

System Updates

Resetting the Future of Work

System Updates is a reflection of the conversations and debates that spanned the Bertelsmann Foundation Fellowship (BFF) in 2023. Our eleven fellows and two guest authors lay out how the EU and the U.S. can build a future of work that works for all.

Digital World

Hotspots

The Internet and Collective Action in Authoritarian Settings

Over the last decade, a degree of cynicism has set in regarding how society views the internet’s impact on democracy. What is the impact of digital tools on non-democracies when a majority of the global population lives in far less than “full democracy.” Does the internet offer repressed citizens an...

Democracy

Pictures Worth a Thousand Policies: Campaign Imagery from Bavaria’s State Election

On October 8, 2023, Bavaria hosted its state election. Ranked second in gross regional product and population, Bavaria has always had a sizable influence on German politics, with many seeing this year’s state election as a bellwether for what to expect at the national level in 2025.

Politics & Society

Europe once stretched into Algeria

The French Empire’s bid for a European Algeria—and the French Republic’s crusade against an Algerian France

“We had French nationality, but not French citizenship. We were part of Europe, but we were not European. We were immigrants, but not foreigners.” Sitting in a Parisian café, my great-uncle reminisces about when he and his brother answered France’s call for cheap manual labor in the 1950s.

Politics & Society

(N)ostalgia

On October 3, 1990, the carefully negotiated Unification Treaty took effect, and over four decades of divided Germany came to a legal end. Reunification also meant the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), a socialist workers’ state born out of the Soviet Union’s occupied zone...

Democracy

On the Fringe

28% of French citizens chose not to vote in the second, and final, round of the April 2022 French presidential election. This was the highest rate of abstention in over 50 years and the second highest rate in the history of the Fifth Republic.

Politics & Society

Turning the Key to Maltese Identity

The blue waters surrounding the Maltese archipelago run as deep as the nation’s multicultural roots. Located approximately 60 miles from the southern coast of Sicily and 186 miles from the northern coast of Libya, Malta is commonly referred to as the stepping stone between the European and African...

Politics & Society

Home Game

Our Identities as Sports Fans

Last October, my father, oldest brother, and youngest brother came to visit me in Washington, DC. This was not normal. In fact, it was the first time they had come to visit all at once, and it would mark the only time we would all be together in 2022.

Politics & Society

Jalil's Journey

For over four decades, Afghanistan has been fraught with conflict. The country, known for the bustling capital city of Kabul — the “Paris of Central Asia” — and the ruggedly beautiful natural landscape, was once a destination for artists, adventurers, and tourists. But the nation was plunged into...

Democracy

Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd, and Four’s a Misfortune: Germany’s Next Coalition

An August 2023 ARD-Deutschlandtrend survey found that 79% of Germans are dissatisfied with the governing coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and Free Democrats (FDP), including a majority of SPD and FDP voters and 48% of Greens. In-fighting over climate, budget, and defense have worn down...

Politics & Society

There and Back Again

My junior year of college, I arrived in London on the way to Cambridge — where I would spend the next six months as a visiting student immersed in poetry — on an early January day of classically, delightfully awful weather. My umbrella broke almost immediately, and I was soaked through by the time I...

Digital World

Where Online Meets Offline

Social Media's Double-edged Sword

Young people have grown up alongside social media platforms and many have never known a world without them. Teens and young adults are often very intentional about what they post on social media and how they present themselves on each platform. Social media allows users to carefully curate content...

Politics & Society

A Green Light for the Far-Right: Environmental Policy Strife Creates Opening for AfD

In a time of radical change due to war in Ukraine, rising inflation, energy transition, and a second major refugee influx during the past decade, it is no surprise that German democracy is feeling both internal and external pressure. But an unlikely culprit is driving this shift to the far-right:...

Democracy

Dialogue with Professor Carol Anderson

New York Times best-selling author and professor of African American studies at Emory University

On September 7, 2022, the Bertelsmann Foundation, Humanity in Action and Emory University hosted the premiere of the Foundation’s new documentary, “I, Too”, at the Carter Center in Atlanta. The film, which features New York Times best-selling author and renowned African American studies scholar...

Politics & Society

Emerging Ties

Essays on Transatlantic Engagement in the Developing World

Emerging Ties is a reflection of the conversations and debates that spanned the Bertelsmann Foundation Fellowship (BFF) in 2022. Our nine fellows and guest author lay out the ways in which the EU and the U.S. can further engage with developing countries and encourage positive global change.

Politics & Society

This Is (Not) Our War

For Belarusians, the regime of President Aleksandr Lukashenko leaves few options but to flee the country if they want to stand with Ukraine.

Like many others running from war or severe repression, I no longer have a home. But there is a vast difference between me, who had a choice, and those who woke up to bombs. What unites us is a great fear of, a long struggle with, and an intense hatred for those who have dared to claim our freedom...

Digital World

Democracy Needs Tech Support

Technological development offers seemingly endless benefits and convenience. Internet connectivity was critical for personal and professional interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic, and, more broadly, everyday emerging technology is saving lives, whether from 3D printed organs or automatic brakes...

Digital World

E-Stonia Rewired

A Nation Transformed from Cyberattack Victim to Cybersecurity Leader

In April 2007, the Estonian government approved a controversial plan to relocate a statue from the center of its capital, Tallinn. Soviet authorities had unveiled the monument, a life-sized World War II Russian soldier with a clenched right fist and a bowed head, 60 years earlier, after their forces...

Politics & Society

Interview with John Blackburn

Former Deputy Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force (Retired)

Blackburn spoke with the Bertelsmann Foundation in August 2022 about the need to foster resilient societies in a time of geopolitical and environmental upheaval, and about possibilities for the transatlantic partnership to work with Australia on a green energy transition. He highlighted in the...

Democracy

What's Past is Prologue

Teaching History to Strengthen Democracy

In the heart of Wilmington, North Carolina, sits a neo-classical building with imposing columns and a whitewashed façade. Thalian Hall doubles these days as a performing arts center and city hall. But the building is the November 1898 site of the only successful coup d’etat in American history.

Politics & Society

The Resilience of Truth

Despite the vast amount of broadcast and online Russian disinformation, Western audiences have been transfixed by the bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people. Ukraine has been waging its own information war, and it is winning in that arena.

Politics & Society

Diary of War

This is a story—based on the diary entries of and interviews with those who have survived the war in different parts of Ukraine—chronicling the swift and brutal destruction of people’s lives and the country they call home. It is an ongoing story of bombs and silence, fire and snow, family and loss....

Digital World

Hidden Layers | Facebook Whistleblower Hearings & Pittsburgh Outcomes

Your Quarterly Transatlantic Technology News | Issue 1

In this inaugural edition, we discuss some of the main tech policy discussions that occurred at the end of 2021 and early 2022, including the U.S. and EU’s approach to regulating Big Tech and Facebook whistleblower hearings, the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council, privacy legislation, and a debate...

Politics & Society

A Transatlantic To-Do List

Assessing Year One of the Biden Administration

In our latest B|Brief, Sara Leming examines the transatlantic relationship one year after the European Commission released, “A new EU-U.S. agenda for global change”, which provided a “to-do” list for the Biden administration to follow for a reinvigorated EU-US relationship.

Politics & Society

Green Ideas

Incentivizing Innovation: Sustainable Solutions

Wildfires. Blistering temperatures. Hurricanes. Earthquakes. Melting Ice Caps. The natural disasters that will be exacerbated by climate change are numerous. The statistics coming out of every report about what has been dubbed the anthropogenic era describe a very dark future—one that might cause...

Digital World

The No Collar Economy - Vol. I

The digital revolution is turning the global economy on its head. The most valuable workers in today’s labor market—the millennials creating billion-dollar empires with laptops and a case of La Croix—aren’t wearing white collars or blue collars and they certainly don’t own anything in pinstripes....

Politics & Society

Transatlantic Trends 2021

Transatlantic opinion on global challenges

2021 opens a new chapter for the transatlantic relationship. The change of the U.S. administration as well as the political, economic, and societal implications of the coronavirus pandemic have redefined transatlantic policy dialogues. New priorities have emerged, as the calls for increased...

Democracy

Out to Vote

A Movement to Restore Voting Rights in Maryland

When has an individual convicted of a felony fully repaid their debt to society? When should they be welcomed back into the fabric of civic life as a contributing and engaged citizen? In the United States, the answer has often been long after being released from prison or, in some cases, never.

Politics & Society

Stars Align for German Foreign Policy

Merkel Takes Action on the EU-China Investment Deal and Bosnia’s High Representative

Just around the time Jupiter and Saturn converged in the night sky in mid-December 2020, it seems the stars also aligned in Berlin’s halls of power. With the end of Germany’s six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union and the sun setting on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 16-year reign,...

Politics & Society

Clean Network’s Summer Tour

EU in the Middle of U.S-China Rivalry Over 5G

Dueling diplomatic trips in Europe this summer by United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi sought to sway the European Union’s stance on the China-U.S. rivalry. Among other goals, Pompeo would like to convince more countries to pledge not to use parts made...

Democracy

Graphic Images

Disrupting Democracy Vol. III

For this third edition of the series, we decided to turn everything you’ve come to expect from Disrupting Democracy on its head. Through the use of carefully constructed algorithms by our partners at the Institute for Competitiveness, we have collected more than 10,000 data points that are the...

Politics & Society

The Geopolitics of TikTok

Once the domain of teenage dancers, pranksters, and aspiring influencers, TikTok has become a lightning rod in disputes among global powers. The Chinese video app is in the crosshairs of policymakers whose options to move against Beijing are limited.

Democracy

When the Levee Breaks

Can Institutions Save Liberal Democracy?

With liberal democracy already mired in a slump, democratic institutions face a massive challenge in mustering a response to the novel coronavirus of 2020. How these institutions perform in the coming months will have long term ramifications for democracy in the 21st century. Is the West’s...

Politics & Society

Privacy and Pandemics

In bucolic China, a child has braved cold temperatures for some fresh outdoors air. Overhead, a drone hovers. Its loudspeaker, a haunting combination of human direction in the machine age, chides him for being outdoors. “Hey kid! We’re in unusual times… The coronavirus is very serious… run!!” it...

Democracy

Common Enemies

Coalition Building in America’s Major Political Parties

In countries with parliamentary systems, like Germany, consensus is built after the election. Parties work together to form coalition governments and craft platforms that represent their values. In the United States, the elections themselves are consensus building exercises, as the parties undergo a...

Politics & Society

Battle Won, War Lost?

The Downward Trend of Germany’s Social Democrats

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) triumphed in the recent Hamburg state election, held last Sunday, February 23. However, this victory is no reason to celebrate for Social Democrats across Germany. While the party has won a battle, it is losing the war – and pretty severely.

Politics & Society

Edge of a Precipice

Understanding French President Macron’s EU Vision

In an interview with The Economist released November 7, French President Macron laid out a grand strategic vision for the EU. He called for the creation of an EU military, stronger technological sovereignty, and reforms to deepen the political unity of the EU instead of just growing the single...

Politics & Society

Trick or Treat

The Rule of Law Comes Knocking

In a week dominated by ghouls, goblins, and the forces of darkness, there is some reason for optimism on the streets of Washington and London. For the better part of three years, President Trump has sidelined norms and legal precedent to further his stated objective to “make America great again.”...

Politics & Society

Shared Values No More?

Climate Change and the Transatlantic Relationship

Pundits have wrung their hands about the deterioration of the transatlantic alliance, as U.S. President Donald Trump has slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum and attacked the Federal Republic for its limited defense spending. However, the alliance may be careening toward another – and likely much...

Democracy

Six Steps

Recommendations for Building Resilient Democracy in the 21st Century

In April 2019, the Bertelsmann Foundation convened two dozen international leaders from the fields of business, politics, nonprofits, and the arts for the Washington Symposium, which asked how to make democracy resilient enough to face the challenges of the 21st century.

Archived Projects

Washington Symposium

Liberal democracy as we’ve come to understand it over the last century is vulnerable from every angle. Democratically-elected leaders with autocratic leanings are using the very tools of democracy – elections, constitutions, political parties, the media – to undermine the system.

Democracy

Liquid Democracy

Transforming Democracy for the Digital Age

In the recent European Parliament election, the influence of populism was once again evident. It remains a worrying force, just as it has been in a slew of other elections in the last several years, and is a major threat to the functioning of liberal democracies around the world. While many in the...

Democracy

Alexa, Is Democracy Dead?

Five generations ago, in 1879, Thomas Edison introduced a technological innovation – the electric light bulb – that would change the world. At the time, few believed that anything could reliably replace gas-powered light, and in an October interview that year the New York Times illuminated the...

Democracy

Democracy and Disinformation

Imagine this: Suddenly, everybody was an author. Everybody could publish; everybody could write. The men who had controlled access to information were now irrelevant; the establishment was crushed in a flood tide of new publications. New ideas multiplied; so did new conflicts. Violence followed –...

Democracy

Democracy

An Aristocratic Spirit

“The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” This conclusion by Saint Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, as simple as it is wise, explains why in our own time so many great words have been so emptied of meaning that we no longer have any idea what they refer to, or continue purely out...

Democracy

Democracy 101

An Introduction

“Our democracy is dead.” I’ve heard this phrase uttered all across the world after the passage of a restrictive voter law, the closure of an independent news outlet or the results of a questionable election. Friends and acquaintances over the years have lamented: Because of x, my country is no...

Politics & Society

Incoming!

Germany’s Thrifty Defense Budget Under Fire

NATO’s current infighting would probably have shocked even the reportedly unflappable Lord Hastings Ismay, the alliance’s first Secretary General. He famously declared that NATO’s mission was to “keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.” Seventy years later, the first two...

Politics & Society

The Green New Deal

Revolutionary or Recycled Policies?

In early February 2019, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and newly elected Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) released their Green New Deal (GND), a non-binding Congressional resolution that argues for “a new national, social, industrial, and economic mobilization on a scale not seen since World...

Democracy

Disrupting Democracy Vol. II

Election Series

In 2018, for our second instalment of the Disrupting Democracy project we turned our attention to elections. From the rise of Five Star and Lega in Italy to U.S. Democrats’ success winning the U.S. House of Representatives, and from to Morena and Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s victory in Mexico to a...

Democracy

Arts and Culture - Part 2

Keeping Democracy Alive or Entertainment for the Establishment?

Wolfgang Merkel, of the Berlin Social Science Center, emphatically notes in his more recent publications that a significant problem for current democracies stems from deficits of representation: “In the last two to three decades, a growing group of citizens has been taking shape that does not feel...

Democracy

Taking Stock of Democracy

Still a Success Story or not Competitive Anymore?

Taking stock of democracy seems to be easy. Democracy doubtlessly was the most successful idea of the 20th century, in spite of its flaws and problems. Democracy is able to adapt to changing environments and has been able to cope with challenges and problems in most cases. As a consequence, the...

Democracy

Democracy, an Economic Review

Open Market Economies Under Pressure

The political model of a liberal and cosmopolitan democracy is coming under increasing pressure in many Western industrialized nations. This also applies to the economic model prevalent in liberal democracies, which is based on core elements such as private property, competition, open markets and...

Politics & Society

The Far-Right Foundation

Just a few years ago, most Germans could not have imagined that members of a far-right party would enter the Bundestag. But in 2017, after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) took home 12.6 percent of the vote in the federal elections, over 90 members of the party moved into offices in...

Democracy

Disrupting Democracy

The Story of Italy’s 2018 Election

Italy’s 2018 election proved to be the latest shock to western democracies. By wide margins, Italians voted for populist movements at the expense of traditional parties. In May, the populist Five Star Movement and the right-wing Lega Party reached a tentative agreement to form a new governing...

Democracy

A New Constellation

Making Sense of the Italian Election

Italians have a long history of conducting national elections that result in short-lived governments. With more than 40 prime ministers and over 60 governments since World War II, stability and longevity have not been the hallmarks of Italian democracy. When Italians return to the polls on March 4,...

Politics & Society

Germany's Coalition Agreement

Transatlantic Ties in Times of ‘Profound Change’

After months of tumultuous negotiations in Berlin, the CDU, CSU and SPD emerged on February 7 with a draft coalition agreement. Much of the document spells out a continuation of past priorities, but five short paragraphs on page 147 show a serious, and perhaps irreversible, shift in thinking about...

Democracy

Disrupting Democracy Vol. I

Point. Click. Transform

Beginning January 2017, the Bertelsmann Foundation embarked on a journey to explore how digital innovation impacts democracies and societies around the world in a series called "Disrupting Democracy." In volume one, we focused on key challenges that have emerged as a result of technological...

Politics & Society

The Turkish-German Tug-of-War

In the lead-up to Germany’s federal elections on September 24, the nation’s 2.9 million Turkish-born residents have found themselves in the middle of a tug-of-war between Berlin and Ankara.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long enjoyed a certain amount of support in the Turkish community in...

Politics & Society

The Crossroads

US-Mexico Trade

The US-Mexico trade relationship emerged as an issue in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and it remains a critical fault line in globalization.

Democracy

An American Revolution

The Election of President Donald Trump

The election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States marks a seismic shift in American politics. Tapping into widespread economic discontent and exploiting cultural chasms throughout the country, the president-elect ran an unconventional campaign that resulted in a revolution of...

Politics & Society

In Search of the Center

The Beginning of the End of Political Extremism?

As the U.S. presidential candidates limp toward the finish line, dragging a disillusioned electorate along with them, many have reflected on the long-term damage of Trumpism to the Republican Party, or whether those who were “feeling the Bern” will hold their noses and cast a vote for Hillary...

Politics & Society

Echoes of History

Understanding German Data Protection

The discussion surrounding surveillance and the collection of personal data—whether by the private or public sector—and the debate over the authority of the intelligence services have never been more relevant in Germany. The debate has become more complex and contentious as a result of the...

Politics & Society

Germany's Security Policy

From Territorial Defense to Defending the Liberal World Order?

Stark differences exist in the strategic culture between Europe and the United States. They concern as much the disparity in military power—all 28 member states of the European Union together spend less on defense than the United States alone—as well as the very different historical experiences. Two...

Politics & Society

The End of Panda Politics

Somewhere in the bamboo forests of China’s Sichuan Province, two pandas are being readied for their journey to Germany. The animals are to accompany Chinese President Xi Jinping when he visits Berlin next year, and will serve as goodwill ambassadors in the city’s zoo. Everyone loves pandas: They are...

Politics & Society

Europe's Reluctant Leader

When U.S. President Barack Obama visited Europe early in 2016, he voiced concern about two central issues: recent political and economic strife in Europe and Germany’s duty to take on a more active leadership role in these turbulent times. The political landscape in and around Europe has changed...

Politics & Society

Inside Turkey’s Economy

On July 15, Turkey’s tumultuous 2016 took a shocking twist as elements within the country’s military attempted a coup against the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The putsch rapidly snapped at the seams, and a night that began with soldiers blocking bridges yielded a morning with those...

Politics & Society

A New Role for France

Europe’s Pivotal Nation

In the early days of U.S. President Barack Obama’s term, the administration announced a strategic “pivot” toward the Asia-Pacific region. Implicit in this policy, however, was the assumption that if a nation pivots toward something, it is simultaneously pivoting away from something else – Europe and...

Politics & Society

Pacific Alliance 2.0

Next Steps in Integration

The Pacific Alliance, an integration agreement between Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, has achieved remarkable success in recent years. Also known as the Pacific Pumas, the four countries have worked together since 2011 to eliminate tariffs on over 92 percent of goods, integrate their national...

Democracy

Austrian Elections

When the Peoples' Parties Lose the People

When Austrians went to the polls in last month’s presidential election, the political establishment received a jarring wakeup call. Typically, presidents hail from one of the country’s traditional Volksparteien, or people’s parties—the center-left Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) or the...

Politics & Society

Three Things to Watch in Brazil

When I met with former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sao Paulo earlier this month, he seemed tired and apprehensive. Two days later, in scenes that played out on live television, federal police raided his house and detained him for hours of questioning regarding percolating...

Politics & Society

A Temporary Alternative for Germany?

A Look at AfD’s Rise

In state elections on Sunday, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party achieved double-digit support in all three states that held elections—Baden-Württemberg (15.1 percent), Rhineland-Palatinate (12.6 percent) and Saxony-Anhalt (24.2 percent) —surpassing their expected support by several...

Democracy

State Elections in Germany

Party Politics on Shaky Ground

This weekend, Germans will go to the polls in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt to elect state leaders. While each of these states has its own distinct demography and political history, they have one thing in common this election cycle: The current migration crisis is...

Politics & Society

Erdogan's Bus Ride to Redemption

After 13 years in power, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reached a crucial fork in the road that offers clear choices between rejoining the community of democratic leaders or attaining pariah status reserved for those who violate basic human rights and demonstrate contempt for the rule...

Politics & Society

Merkel's Mission

Navigating Domestic Politics To Save Europe

Today, Germany finds itself at the center of the Greek economic crisis, but it did not ask for this tremendous responsibility. A combination of its disproportionate economic heft and withering leadership in the rest of the European Union has forced Germany into a position that runs counter to its...

Politics & Society

Reining in Russia

The Parable of the Chinese Finger Trap

It is a simple device made of woven bamboo, but the Chinese finger trap has befuddled children for generations. Put an index finger into each end of the cylindrical tube, and there is seemingly no escape. The more force exerted from opposing directions only serves to tighten the grip further. The...

Politics & Society

The Essential Relationship

The trans-Atlantic bond was for generations defined by the strength of the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom. But the world changes, and so too must constellations among nations if they are to confront the vast problems of the modern era. In the early 21st...

Politics & Society

A New Year's Resolution on Turkey

It’s harder to keep a New Year’s resolution than to make one. As 2014 began, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, then Turkish prime minister, pledged a “European Year” that would revive his country’s EU membership bid. As part of the effort, Ankara released in September a new “European Union Strategy” that aimed...

Politics & Society

It's About Time

Normalized US-Cuban Relations

A surprise prisoner swap this morning between the US and Cuba has triggered a new era―and a major thaw―in bilateral relations, which have been frozen for more than five decades. By noon, US President Barack Obama announced significantly broadened diplomatic, financial and technological contact with...

Politics & Society

The Berlin Wall's Power to Unify

Twenty-five years have passed since the Berlin Wall fell, and a new era for Europe and the United States began. We live today in a starkly different world, one that was formed – in part, at least – by the dramatic events in central Europe in 1989. So strong was the impact of that year that even...

Politics & Society

Going "All In" in Ukraine

As election results go, supporters of a pro-European Ukraine were dealt what poker players would call a “full house”. The first parliamentary vote since the downfall of the country’s former president, Viktor Yanukovych, in February saw widespread support for reformminded parties, including current...

Politics & Society

Globalization Report 2014

Who benefits most from globalization?

The increasing economic, political and social interconnectedness of the world is ubiquitous. It is evident in the steadily rising sales of German mechanical construction companies beyond the country’s borders as well as in the fact that more Asians use Facebook than North Americans and that the...

Politics & Society

Argentina

Holding Up After Holding Out

The single seat at the press conference said it all. Argentine Finance Minister Axel Kicillof would be speaking alone. He would not be accompanied by a court-appointed mediator or representatives of holdout firms. There was no deal that would allow New York banks to process Argentina’s payments to...

Politics & Society

Obama's Choice

A new wave of spy allegations is further damaging German-American relations and now threatens to radically alter the mainstay of the entire trans-Atlantic partnership. Last week’s allegations of the CIA’s paying a German informant for documents related to a Bundestag committee’s investigations into...

Politics & Society

Is Seven Greater Than Eight

The math is simple, but world leaders are struggling with their numbers. The reconstituted Group of Seven (G7) scheduled to meet in Brussels on June 4-5 will be minus Russia, which was due to host the (G8) gathering in Sochi. Nevertheless, the summit, now hosted by the European Council following...

Politics & Society

Merkel in Washington

What Does She Want?

Among the US’s many allies, Germany has become one of the hardest for Americans to read. Washington sees the country under Chancellor Angela Merkel’s leadership as a power that is unwilling to fully execute its foreign-policy responsibilities by flexing its muscles and, when necessary, by...

Politics & Society

Cross-Cutting Currents

Transatlantic Primer 2022

The U.S. and Europe have an opportunity to engage closely on a broad range of challenges in 2022. To that end, the Bertelsmann Foundation has produced Cross-Cutting Currents, a transatlantic primer, as a foundational and introductory resource for those who seek a better understanding of the...

Digital World

Hidden Layers | US-EU Meeting in Paris & Congress' New Digital Platform Commission

Your Quarterly Transatlantic Technology News | Issue 2

In this issue, we discuss tech legislation making headlines in the first half of 2022, including the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Digital Services Act (DSA), Digital Governance Act (DGA), and the U.S. Congress’ proposed Digital Platform Commission Act. We also cover the latest on the U.S.-EU...

Digital World

Hidden Layers | EU’s AI Act, an AI task force from Congress, and a new Executive Order to protect Americans’ personal data

In this issue, we discuss updates on the EU’s AI Act, the Biden administration’s AI executive order (EO) and a new AI task force from Congress. We also address the outcomes from the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council’s (TTC) fifth ministerial meeting and a new EO to protect Americans’ personal...

Politics & Society

Transponder Issue #2: Cities

In this second issue of the Transponder, we explore how transatlantic cities confront global challenges and bolster the transatlantic relationship. As more than half of the world’s population currently resides in metropolitan areas, we see that cities are becoming the epicenter for political,...

Future Leadership

BFF Spotlight: Travis Moore

Bertelsmann Foundation Fellow Class of 2012; Founder and Executive Director of TechCongress

Travis Moore is the Founder and Executive Director of TechCongress, which places computer scientists, engineers, and other technologists to work for Members of Congress and Congressional Committees on key policymaking challenges like AI ethics, election security, encryption, and data privacy through...