The Zeitgeist

American-German Institute
The Zeitgeist

The Zeitgeist delves into topics affecting Germany, the United States, and the transatlantic relationship. Hosted by American-German Institute President Jeff Rathke, the show welcomes guests from the policy, academic, and think tank communities, as well as in-house AGI experts. Produced by the American-German Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

  1. 12 FEB

    Episode 121: Climate Change and National Security

    Climate change can create national security risks, test military resilience, and redefine how countries pursue their geopolitical interests. Sherri Goodman, author of Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security, joins The Zeitgeist to discuss how the Department of Defense is addressing and adapting to the challenge of climate change and the role of allied military cooperation. She also offers perspectives on the role that climate change is playing in the Trump administration’s approach to Greenland and the Panama Canal. Host Jeff Rathke, President, AGI Guests Sherri Goodman, Senior Fellow, Polar Institute and Environmental Change & Security Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center; Secretary General, International Military Council on Climate & Security (IMCCS) Peter Rashish, Vice President and Director, Geoeconomics Program, AGI Transcript Jeff Rathke Well, I’d like to welcome all of our listeners to this episode of The Zeitgeist. We’re speaking on February 5, 2025, with Sherri Goodman. Sherri, thanks for being with us. Sherri Goodman It’s a pleasure. Jeff Rathke Sherri Goodman is a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Cente’s Polar Institute and Environmental Change and Security Program. She’s also the Secretary General of the International Military Council on Climate and Security, and she’s the author of a book called Threat Multiplier: Climate Military Leadership and the Fight for Global Security, which was published just last year. And she is one of the foremost thinkers on climate change and national security. And so we are going to talk about that today. And where I want to start is, we are just a couple of weeks into a Trump administration, which has a decidedly different view than its predecessor on things like the role of climate change in international security. How is this going to matter now and in the coming years, Sherri? Is this something that can disappear from the thinking of an American strategist and foreign policy practitioner? Sherri Goodman Well, thank you, Jeff, and it’s a pleasure to be with you and the listeners on The Zeitgeist. There’s Trump’s rhetoric, and then there’s the reality. Even in his first term, when he considered climate a four-letter word, there was a lot of climate action that occurred in the Department of Defense and in a bipartisan way in Congress on the major defense bill, the National Defense Authorization Act. So in Trump’s first term, the Department of Defense created the Defence Climate Assessment Tool, which was first developed by the Army to screen military facilities for climate vulnerabilities like sea level rise, wind, flood, heat, and other perils and other risks. That tool’s since been adopted by the entire Department of Defense, and it’s even been shared with some of our allies and partners. So that work is going to continue. When you think of climate risk as a risk, and militaries are all about managing and reducing risk: risks of instability around the world and also risk to troops and forces and bases. When you think about the fact that sea level rise, floods, fires, storms, all the climate perils that we experience today, many on an almost daily basis now, affect how we operate our forces around the world and affect how our bases are stationed and our troops are trained, that work has to continue, and indeed much of it is already baked into the Department of Defense directives and into guidance documents that will continue in this administration. It may be reframed as climate resilience rather...

    28 min
  2. 29 JAN

    Episode 120: The Issues Driving German Politics One Month from the Bundestag Election

    With the German elections slated for February 23, Member of the Bundestag Omid Nouripour, a former national co-chairman of the Green Party, joins The Zeitgeist to discuss the issues shaping the campaign. He analyzes challenges that the next coalition will face and the outlook for transatlantic relations with a new U.S. administration. Host Jeff Rathke, President, AGI Guest Omid Nouripour, Member of the Bundestag (Alliance 90/The Greens) Transcript Jeff Rathke I want to welcome all of our listeners to this episode of The Zeitgeist. We are really pleased to have with us Omid Nouripour. Omid, welcome. Omid Nouripour Thank you for having me. Jeff Rathke Omid Nouripour is a directly elected member of the Bundestag from the area around Frankfurt or Frankfurt and environs. He has been a member of the Bundestag for almost twenty years, occupying a seat that was previously held by Joschka Fischer—is that correct? Omid Nouripour Exactly. Jeff Rathke And as you may guess from that, he is a member of the Green Party, and from February 2022 until November 2024, so for about two and a half years, he was also the co-chair of the national Green Party, so one of the most important figures in the party over the last several years. With that in mind, it is a terrific opportunity to talk with you, Omid. You’re in the middle of an election campaign, right? Omid Nouripour Yep, and it’s getting more and more intensified by circumstances, international and national. Jeff Rathke I think that’s what we’re going to try to peel back a bit. We’ll start by talking a bit about what’s happening in Germany and in this election campaign in particular. And then we will think about how that relates to the new U.S. administration. It seems to me when I look at the German election campaign, there are two or three big issues that stand out, but before giving my impression, I’d like to hear yours. What are the two or three things that are most important—from your point of view—for German voters and for Germany right now? Omid Nouripour By far the most important issue is a society which is feeling a huge amount of fatigue, fatigue of crises, and we had and we have a lot of crises. One is inflation, something which is of course well-known in the United States in the last years. Of course, we have the post-COVID depression of a lot of people. People are exhausted of the war in Ukraine, as the people in Ukraine are. We have one migration debate and issue after another. We have issues of public security. And so on and so on. And of course, the question of climate crises is a big one, not only for my party. We are seeing a lot of extreme weather coming in and harming a lot and destroying a lot of lives and welfare in this country. You asked me what’s the biggest issue. The biggest issue is how to get more resistance on crises. Jeff Rathke One of the things that this coalition for its three years in power, it started off famously characterizing itself as a future-oriented coalition, taking new approaches, spanning party boundaries in new ways. And that lasted less than a full legislative term. Do you think that the sense of optimism, the sense of being able to master challenges, has diminished in Germany, or is it shifting in some way? Omid Nouripour You know, I was the guy who invented the term of a transitional coalition, that’s how I called the coalition we had, and to be honest, I’m very proud of what we achieved. We started with a with some kind of an optimism and a very few weeks after the beginning of the period, the war in Ukraine has been escalated by the Russian side and it was a huge challenge for energy supply, for inflation to tackle,

    28 min
  3. 15 JAN

    Episode 119: Voter Volatility and Political Stagnation

    Germany votes for a new parliament on February 23. While the center-right Christian Democrats maintain a lead in the polls, the three parties of Olaf Scholz’s outgoing “traffic light” coalition all have suffered reduced support compared to 2021. A result of this volatility is that the next Bundestag could have as many as seven or as few as four parties. In any case, the far-right AfD party is on track for its strongest national showing ever. Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger joins The Zeitgeist to discuss the German political landscape, what is motivating voters, and how the elections will affect transatlantic relations. Host Jeff Rathke, President, AGI Guests Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger, AGI Non-Resident Senior Fellow Eric Langenbacher, AGI Senior Fellow; Director, Society, Culture & Politics Program Transcript Jeff Rathke Let me welcome our listeners to this episode of The Zeitgeist. It is January 13, 2025, so this is our first recording in the New Year, and we are glad to have everybody with us. We are just around six weeks away from the German Bundestag election, which is happening on February 23. We thought that was a great opportunity for us to come together and talk about where this election is heading, its significance. Let’s get started. We have with us today my colleague Eric Langenbacher, who is the senior fellow and director of our program for Society, Culture & Politics here at AGI. Good morning, Eric. Eric Langenbacher Good morning, Jeff. Jeff Rathke And we have with us from Darmstadt, if I got that right, Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger, who is a nonresident senior fellow at AGI and who for many years was the foreign editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Hello, Klaus. Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger Hello guys across the pond. Good to see you again. Jeff Rathke Good to see you, too. Let’s just start with one general observation: this is a crucial moment not only for Germany, but in particular for Germany. We have an early election that was the result of the collapse of Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition. This election is happening just as the Trump administration, with its increased antagonism and mounting demands toward Europe, will take office. At a time when there is a war still raging almost three years on as Russia tries to subjugate and conquer Ukraine. And at a time for Germany that is particularly precarious because of the difficulties the German economic model is facing, economic stagnation in Germany. This is a time that is going to have huge consequences for Germany, for its European Union partners, and for the transatlantic relationship. Against that backdrop, let’s just start with how things look—and I’ll leave it to Eric or Klaus to run down—but what are we expecting when we look at public opinion, what’s the baseline? Eric Langenbacher I’ll start by talking about where we’re at with the polls. Obviously, there are almost daily polls that are coming out these days. I always respect the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen poll. That came out three days ago on the tenth. It shows the CDU/CSU at about 30 percent, SPD at 14, Greens at 15, FDP and the Left Party and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance at 4 percent, and the AfD at 21 percent. And just to contextualize that a little bit, I think this shows a little bit of weakening on the part of the CDU, a strengthening on the part of the AfD. The AfD was polling well below 20 percent for several weeks, now all the polls have them at 20 percent, maybe even as high as 22 percent. So there seems to be a little bit of strengthening there.

    37 min
  4. 19/12/2024

    Episode 118: Is There a Leadership Vacuum in Europe?

    Who does the United States call when it wants to call Europe, especially as Germany enters a transition through early elections and France experiences political turmoil? Dr. Phyllis Berry joins The Zeitgeist to discuss which people and countries are taking on leadership in Europe and who will drive decision-making in 2025. Host Jeff Rathke, President, AGI Guest Phyllis Berry, National Intelligence Officer for Europe, National Intelligence Council Transcript Jeff Rathke Well, welcome to all of our listeners to this episode of the Zeitgeist. I’m here today with Dr.  Phyllis Berry. Phyllis, thanks for coming by. Phyllis Berry Thank you for having me. Jeff Rathke Phyllis Berry is the National intelligence Officer for Europe at the U.S. National Intelligence Council. She’s held that position since 2021. She previously was Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Europe and a bit further back was also the director for Ukraine on the U.S. National Security Council staff back during the first Russian invasion of Ukraine. Somebody who has perspectives from a variety of angles and somebody with a lot of expertise on Germany, too. Avid listeners of the podcast will remember Phyllis because she was a guest earlier this year where we talked about global trends and their impact on transatlantic relations. We’re speaking today on December 18th, two days after the Bundestag failed to pass a confidence motion in favor of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which set in motion the process toward a new election, most likely, which will happen in February, and our discussion is going to build on our earlier podcast. Of course, there’s a focus on the U.S. transition. We’re going to direct our gaze outwards at European transitions and leadership in Europe. Phyllis, my first question to you: Does Europe face a leadership vacuum? Phyllis Berry Again, thanks for having me here, Jeff. My short answer to your question is no, I don’t think it does. I think right now if we’re going to say who’s leading Europe, we would begin with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who’s just started her second term. And I think has started her second term in a strengthened position. There was a lot of innovation in what the EU did during her first term, partly because of the crises that they faced post-COVID and then the further invasion of Ukraine and then also the growing challenge from China. We saw innovations in all those areas. I think von der Leyen begins her second term in a strengthened position. She has a stronger, more cohesive leadership team with High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas the first former Prime Minister to have that position. Kallas and von der Leyen are really in sync, by the way, I think they look at both Russia and China, which wasn’t always the case with Josep Borrell. With former Portuguese Prime Minister Costa as the President of the European Council, he’s someone who has reverted to the sort of classic role of the President of the Council as being really somebody who is a coalition builder behind the scenes. And he has a reputation for helping to come to compromises. Whenever the EU and when Europe makes big decisions, and what we saw in the first term is the Commission and von der Leyen can press a new initiative and can go beyond where the consensus is at the moment, but you don’t get a big new policy without Council buy-in. Jeff Rathke Other words, the heads of state and heads of government. Phyllis Berry They have to do that. I think we also see if we’re talking about leadership change, we have a new NATO Secretary General in Mark Rutte, and we’ve already seen that Rutte and von der Leyen want to work closely together to use the benefits of both ins...

    33 min
  5. 11/12/2024

    Episode 117: Germany in 2025

    The second Trump administration will take office in just over one month—how will it approach the European security order and trade with the European Union? What risks and opportunities does a new administration represent for Germany? How will relations with China affect Germany’s competitiveness and the transatlantic relationship? As Germany’s federal election campaign begins, it is clear that the next coalition will be made up of different parties than Chancellor Scholz’s “Traffic Light” coalition that broke up on November 6. Berlin faces major domestic challenges, such as diverging views on how to address Germany’s faltering economy. What can we expect from the political transitions in both countries, and how will that shape the international agenda? Host Jeff Rathke, President, AGI Guest Stefan Mair, Director, German Institute for International and Security Affairs Transcript Jeff Rathke Let me welcome all of our listeners to this episode of the podcast and let me welcome Stefan Mair. Stefan, thanks for being here. Stefan Mair Thank you for having me. Jeff Rathke Well, we are talking in person, which is great—not that we don’t like video calls as well. And we are talking on December 5, 2024. Stefan, you may remember this: this is actually your second time being a guest on this podcast. The first time was back in 2019– Stefan Mair And I was still at the Federation of German Industries. Jeff Rathke Exactly. And I’m sure we will come back to the topic that we were discussing then, which is the German relationship with China, which remains a quite interesting topic. Stefan is now the director of the German Stiftung Wissensschaft und Politik, which in English is the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. We are delighted to have you in that capacity. Stefan has been for over thirty years in some of Germany’s leading public policy institutions, including with the Federation of German Industries, where he was a member of the Executive Board, and also going way back to your start with SWP back in the 1990s. If I look at the last couple of weeks, naturally the U.S. election on November 5th was a major development that will affect the transatlantic relationship for years to come. But also, the day after the U.S. election, we had the dissolution, essentially, of the governing coalition in Berlin as Chancellor Scholz fired his finance minister, Christian Lindner. So we have these two things which set the stage really for the coming months and years, and I thought we might talk about the ways in which those may interact. The first thing, as we look at the U.S. transition that is taking shape, most of the cabinet positions have nominees now. We’ll see how quickly people get confirmed. We have essentially control by the Republican Party in the Congress as well as in the executive branch. As a candidate, Donald Trump talked a lot about his view of the world, his desire to use things like tariffs, his skepticism or even animosity toward America’s alliances. These are not new themes; we heard about them when he was president the first time. So, maybe to start there. From a German perspective, Stefan, what are the big opportunities and risks that arise? Stefan Mair I think from a German perspective, it’s quite difficult to think about opportunities. We mainly see the risks for the next month and two of them are quite obvious. And the impact of these risks, if they really realize, will be huge. First, of course, we are concerned about the support—both the financial as well as military support—to Uk...

    28 min
  6. 21/11/2024

    Episode 116: The Evolution of LGBTQ+ Rights in Germany

    For thirty-five years, the LSVD+ – Queer Diversity Association has been representing the interests of LGBTQ+ people in Germany. Its managing director Klaus Jetz joins The Zeitgeist to discuss how LGBTQ+ rights have changed in Germany since unification, the challenges the community faces now, and how the LSVD+ has advocated for greater civil rights in Germany. With guest host Eric Langenbacher, he also discusses how the LSVD+ works with other organizations to advance LGBTQ+ rights globally. Guest Host Eric Langenbacher, AGI Senior Fellow; Director, Society, Culture & Politics Program Guests Klaus Jetz, Executive Director, LSVD+ – Queer Diversity Association Transcript Eric Langenbacher Welcome, everybody, to this edition of The Zeitgeist podcast here at the American-German Institute. I’m Eric Langenbacher, a senior fellow and the director of the Society, Culture & Politics Program here at AGI. Today, we’re going to be speaking with Klaus Jetz, who is the Geschaftsführer, or the executive director, of the LSVD+ organization, the Federation Queer Diversity, based in Cologne, Germany. And we had the opportunity to meet with Klaus when we were on our study tour for our LGBTQ+ exchange program, this was back earlier this year in April 2024. Klaus, it’s really nice to—kind of—see you again and welcome. Klaus Jetz Thank you very much for the invitation. Eric Langenbacher So Klaus, I thought maybe we could begin with you providing a few more details about yourself, your journey, and how you got to this position today. Klaus Jetz It was just by, I would say, an accident, because I was looking for a job when I finished my studies back in the 90s. I studied Spanish and French literature, Latin American literature, and history. And, when I finished in 1992, I think it was, I was looking for a job, and a friend of mine said the gay association in Germany is looking for a press officer. And so I ran for this job and I was selected. And since that time in the 90s I have been working as a press officer for the LSVD in those times—LSVD+ nowadays—and for our Hirschfeld Eddy Foundation, which is our human rights foundation. But I never stopped working as well on Latin American issues, Spanish issues, or literature as a translator of Spanish novels, Latin American novels from Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Cuban novels, et cetera. And to write about Latin American issues, history, politics, and culture, mainly literature. Eric Langenbacher Fascinating. So maybe first you could give us more details about the LSVD+ Federation itself. What is your main mission? What is the structure of your organization, and what are the main activities? Klaus Jetz Our mission is equality in front of the law or before the law: equal rights for LGBTI+ people. We’ve been fighting for equal rights for same-sex couples for a long time until we were granted marriage-for-all rights in 2017. We are a non-discrimination organization working on anti-discrimination policies and activities based on LGBTIQ+. And we are a kind of watchdog as well. As soon as in society, in the media, or wherever in politics there is discriminatory wording against LGBTI+ people, we raise our voice and we are heard by media. But we are invited as well by legislators, by the German Parliament, or ministries as soon as they do have project law in the pipeline to give our views on this project. So we are the national LGBTIQ+ organization; we speak for trans and intersex people as well. Of course, there are other organizations, and we closely cooperate with these organizations. Eric Langenbacher Great. And what about your personnel? How big of an organization,

    33 min
  7. 04/11/2024

    Episode 115: The U.S. Election and Germany in Europe

    The year 2025 will bring not only a new U.S. administration but also a new EU Commission. What will these changes mean for Germany and the United States, and what aspirations does Chancellor Scholz’ coalition have for the European Union? Almut Möller, Director for European and Global Affairs at the European Policy Centre, joins the Zeitgeist to discuss. What would different election outcomes mean for European action on competitiveness and security? How does President Ursula von der Leyen’s ambitious Commission align with Germany’s interests? Host Jeff Rathke, President, AGI Guests Almut Möller, Director for European and Global Affairs, European Policy Centre Peter Rashish, Vice President and Director, Geoeconomics Program, AGI Transcript Jeff Rathke Welcome to all of the listeners to the Zeitgeist. We have today as our guest someone who is well-known to us and perhaps to some of you out there as well. Her name is Almut Möller. Almut, Welcome. Almut Möller Thank you very much, Jeff. Jeff Rathke And Peter Rashish, director of the Geoeconomics program and vice president of AGI, is with us, too. Hello, Peter. Peter Rashish Hello, Jeff. Jeff Rathke Almut Möller is director for European and Global Affairs at the European Policy Centre. She is a former state secretary and representative of the city of Hamburg, representing Hamburg in Berlin, in Brussels, and internationally for five years, and she just finished up that job this past summer. And before that, she’s been in a number of positions at think tanks as well as a researcher in places as varied as Beijing, Cairo, and Washington, DC. We won’t ask you to tell us which of those places you like best! Almut is now splitting her time between Brussels and Berlin, because Brussels is, of course, the home of the EPC. We’re talking today about the impact of the U.S. presidential election on Germany and Germany’s leadership role within the European Union. Important, of course, a few days before the U.S. elections—we are speaking on November 1st, the Friday before the November 5th vote—and also as a new European Commission is taking office, the second term for Ursula von der Leyen and with a new cabinet. So, there we are. We are looking at a historic election coming up next week, Almut. So, let’s start there. In your previous role as State Secretary for the city-state of Hamburg, you sat in the Bundesrat, in the second chamber of the German legislature, and you were there for all sorts of debates, touching on foreign affairs and domestic. How do you think Germans—official Germany especially—view a Trump versus a Harris presidency? Do people see stark differences and significant consequences for Germany? Or I sometimes hear from some Germans who sort of dismiss both sides as: They’re both kind of protectionist. They’re both looking to Asia instead of to Europe, and while of course there’s a difference between them, the main lines for Germany and Europe would be the same in either case. How do you think? How do you see it and how do you think people in decision-making roles see it? Almut Möller Well, Jeff, first and foremost, thank you very much for having me. It’s great to be with you and Peter and always good to be with AGI. Washington and my time there was very formative for me. I do say that as someone who’s not a trained transatlanticist, and why do I say that at the beginning, before I respond to your question? It shows you that I’ve learned to think about the world through the lens of Europeanization, which was laden with hope in the 1990s.

    32 min
  8. 23/10/2024

    Episode 114: The Transatlantic Legacy of Stonewall

    In September 2024, participants in AGI’s project “Building LGBTQ+ Communities in Germany and the United States: Past, Present, and Future” traveled to New York City for site visits and discussions about queer activism and rights, including a trip to the Stonewall National Monument. In 1969, the Stonewall riots against police harassment and brutality launched what would become an international movement for LGBTQ+ rights. Two participants, Phuong Tran and Lennart Linke, join the Zeitgeist to reflect on how Stonewall impacted the LGBTQ+ movement globally, how it influenced German and American culture, and why historical memory is important when addressing today’s civil rights challenges. Guest Host Eric Langenbacher, AGI Senior Fellow; Director, Society, Culture & Politics Program Guests Phuong Tran, Managing Community & Coalition Storyteller, American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Lennart Linke, Activist, Heidelberg LGBT Network Transcript Eric Langenbacher Welcome, everybody, to the American-German Institute’s Zeitgeist podcast. I’m Dr. Eric Langenbacher. I am a senior fellow and the director of the Society, Culture & Politics program here at AGI, and I will be the host of this podcast today. This is our first podcast with the second cohort of our building LGBTQ+ communities project and I’m really, really pleased to introduce two of our participants who will be talking about the aftermath of Stonewall. So, from the United States, we have Phuong Tran who is the managing community and coalition storyteller at the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia. She manages the ACLU storytelling program and works with a variety of clients, partners, supporters, community members, and the creative community in Virginia on multiple storytelling projects covering issues like LGBTQ+ rights, criminal legal reform, reproductive freedom, and voting rights. And then from Germany, we have Lennart Linke, who is a LGBTQ+ rights activist who lives in Heidelberg, Germany. His main goals in his activism have been to build resilient communities and learn from historic perspectives, develop strategies to preserve and strengthen queer rights in the future. He’s hosted panel discussions with City Council members and created a guide on candidate stances on LGBTQ+ issues in the Council elections. Beyond his activism, he recently received his master’s degree in molecular biotechnology at Heidelberg University and is moving towards a research career in cancer biology. So welcome, Phuong and Lennart. And to start things off, we’ll have Lennart start by giving us some details on what Stonewall was and its aftermath. Lennart. Lennart Linke Hi Eric, thanks for having us. So during the first part of our excursion to New York City, we visited the Stonewall National Monument. And as a quick background—I think most of the listeners will be familiar with it—the Stonewall riots took place in June 1969 and were a big pushback against persecution and police brutality in New York City against queer people, and in modern day it’s widely considered to be a catalyst for the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement of course, in the United States, but also in other Western countries. And in 2016, the Stonewall Inn, which was the bar where this major riot happened, was designated a national monument by the Obama administration to recognize its significance in American history and culture, and it’s the first American monument dedicated to the queer civil rights movement. Eric Langenbacher Phuong, anything you’d like to add? Phuong Tran Thank you, Lennart, for the quick overview,

    35 min

About

The Zeitgeist delves into topics affecting Germany, the United States, and the transatlantic relationship. Hosted by American-German Institute President Jeff Rathke, the show welcomes guests from the policy, academic, and think tank communities, as well as in-house AGI experts. Produced by the American-German Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

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