Grüezi Amerika. Views from the Sister Republic

Claudia Franziska Brühwiler
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Since January 20, 2025, we are officially in the era of Trump 2.0. But is it, will it be any different from Trump 1.0? And what do the events across the Atlantic mean for us in Europe?  My name is Claudia Franziska Brühwiler, and I am a professor of American Political Thought and Culture at the University of St.Gallen.  This podcast will take a closer look at current events through the lens of American history, politics, and culture. Sometimes, I will keep it short and share with you my analysis, thoughts, or some background story to what is happening. At other occasions, we will hear from guests from across the HSG community and beyond, who give us new insights into US politics, business, culture, and society.   We will look at the US from the perspective of its sister republic Switzerland. We often get hung up on what separates the US from Switzerland, while in fact we share not only great economic relations. Did you know, for instance, that America’s longest serving finance minister was born in Geneva – and one of our past Federal Councillors had fought in the Civil War? There’s a lot to discover – so I hope you’ll join us!  Cover Art: Anne Fritsch

  1. 20h ago

    Episode 55 – Tribal Sovereignty in the US

    The United States comprises fifty states, a federal district, and several territories. But within the United States there are also what we might call “nations within the nation”: 575 federally recognized tribal nations. These nations are not simply ethnic or cultural communities, but possess inherent sovereignty and powers of self-government. According to the 2020 Census, 3.7 million Americans identified as American Indian or Alaska Native alone. If we include those identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native in combination with another race, that number rises to 9.7 million. The Navajo Nation — or Diné Bikéyah — offers perhaps the most striking example of what tribal sovereignty means in practice. Its territory stretches across Arizona, New Mexico and Utah and covers roughly 70,000 square kilometres — about 1.7 times the size of Switzerland. But what does sovereignty mean for Navajo Nation? And what issues are its members facing today? We are tackling these questions with University of New Mexico Professors Tiffany Lee and Wendy Greyes. Together with David Wilkins and Lloyd Lee, they are the authors of The Navajo Nation Political Experience. Tiffany S. Lee (Diné /Lakota), Ph.D., is Dibé Łizhiní (Blacksheep) and born for Naałaní (Oglala Lakota). She is from Crystal, New Mexico, located on the Navajo Nation, on her mother’s side, and Pine Ridge, South Dakota on her father’s side. Dr. Lee is a Professor and Chair of Native American Studies at the University of New Mexico. She earned her doctorate in Sociology of Education from Stanford University. Her research examines Native youth perspectives with regard to language reclamation and identity. She also investigates socio-culturally centered educational approaches. Some of her publications include:Critical language awareness among Native youthin New Mexico and “You should learn who you are through your culture”: Transformative educational possibilities for Native American youth in New Mexico. Wendy S. Greyeyes, Ph.D. (Diné) is an Associate Professor of Native American Studies at the University of New Mexico. She recently completed a prestigious fellowship at Diné College called the Nídahwiil’aah Fellows Program, funded by the Mellon Foundation. Prof. Greyeyes is the Navajo representative member and chair for the New Mexico Indian Education Advisory Council (IEAC). She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago and B.A. in Native American Studies from Stanford University. Her research is focused on political sociology, organizational analysis, Indigenous education, tribal sovereignty, and Nation Building. Recent publications include her book titled A History of Navajo Education: Disentangling our Sovereign Body (2022) and in October 2023, the The Yazzie Case: Building a Public Education System for Our Indigenous Future, co-edited with Lloyd L. Lee and Glenabah Michelle Martinez. Recommendation: Native American Voices by Steve Talbot, Traci Morris Carlston & Susan Lobo

    Episode 55 – Tribal Sovereignty in the US

  2. 5d ago

    Episode 54 – The State of the Economy before the Midterms

    Every election cycle we hear it again: “It’s the economy, stupid!” But while the state of the economy is often decisive for voter decisions, voters currently have diverging opinions on how the US economy is doing. According to YouGov, over 60% of voters believe that the state of the economy is worsening, though a part of the President’s base believe that life has become more affordable. Meanwhile, economists point out steady growth in spite of the tariff policies, and President Trump is campaigning on what he believes to be a stellar record. So, what IS the state of the economy? We are breaking it down with our own Professor Stefan Legge. Professor Dr. Stefan Legge is the Vice Director of the ILE-HSG Institute and a Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of St.Gallen where he heads the MBA program. He also serves as a Fellow at the World Economic Forum. His research focuses on international trade, macroeconomics, and business economics. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mannheim and a master’s and doctoral degree in economics from the University of St.Gallen. During his graduate studies, he undertook research visits at the University of California, San Diego, the University of California, Berkeley, and Princeton University. Recommendations: Clayton Christensen, How Will You Measure Your Life?Thomas Sowell, Is Reality Optional?Sarah Nassauer, "He Earns $33 an Hour as a Costco Cashier. Now He’s a Millionaire," WallStreet JournalFinancial Advice by Dave RamseyFinancial Advice by Suze Orman

    Episode 54 – The State of the Economy before the Midterms

  3. Oct 18

    Episode 53 – MedicAid & Co. Der amerikanische Wohlfahrtsstaat

    TANF, Chip, MedicAid und SNAP: Wer den amerikanischen Sozialstaat verstehen will, muss sich – wie einst beim New Deal – durch eine Buchstabensuppe von Akronymen löffeln. Nicht nur das Geflecht an unterschiedlichen Sozialprogrammen ist schwer zu verstehen, sondern insgesamt auch die Logik dahinter. Immer wieder stellt sich zudem die Frage nach der Wirkung: Auch wenn 2025 wiederum die Armutsrate leicht gefallen ist, leben derzeit 34,5 Millionen Amerikaner:innen unterhalb der Armutsgrenze. Die Sozialausgaben und Gesundheitskosten steigen stetig, während gleichzeitig die Arbeitsmarktbeteiligung sinkt. Wie gut fängt Amerikas Sozialnetz tatsächlich? Und wie kann respektive sollte der amerikanische Sozialstaat reformiert werden? Darüber sprechen wir mit Professor Christian Lammert, der sich wie kaum ein anderer im deutschsprachigen Raum mit der US-Sozialpolitik auseinandergesetzt hat. Der Politikwissenschaftler lehrt seit 2010 am John F. Kennedy-Institut für Nordamerikastudien (JFKI) der Freien Universität Berlin. Er hat die Entwicklung der Amerikastudien in Deutschland massgeblich geprägt, unter anderem als Präsident der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Amerikastudien. Zu seinen zahlreichen Publikationen zählen die zuletzt erschienenen Bücher Jenseits von Demokratie und liberaler Ordnung: Wie Trump die USA verändert und Das Versprechen der Gleichheit: Legitimation und die Grenzen der Demokratie (gemeinsam mit Boris Vormann). Tipps: Handbuch Politik USAKFFBrookings Institution zu Health CareCato Institute zu Health Care

    Episode 53 – MedicAid & Co. Der amerikanische Wohlfahrtsstaat

  4. Sep 20

    Episode 52 – «Founding Frenemies». Gründerväter im Zwiegespräch

    Wäre es Fiktion, fänden wir es kitschig: Am 4. Juli 1826, dem 50. Jahrestag der Unabhängigkeitserklärung, sterben der zweite und der dritte Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten. Die Gründerväter John Adams (1735-1826) und Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) waren einst im gemeinsamen Kampf für die amerikanische Unabhängigkeit und die Verfassung. Doch als sie im ersten Kabinett George Washingtons dienen, entwickeln sie sich zu politischen Gegnern, die sich 1800 einen der gehässigsten und hässlichsten Präsidentschaftswahlkämpfe der US-Geschichte liefern sollten. Wie konnte es zu einem solchen Bruderzwist kommen? Was können wir aus ihren Streitigkeiten für die heutige US-Politik lernen? HSG-Alumnus Dr. Daniel Brühlmeier ist in die «Beziehungsgeschichte» der beiden eingetaucht und hat den Briefwechsel mit «So viele Themen bedrängen mich» zwischen ihnen übersetzt und kommentiert. Dr. Brühlmeier studierte ursprünglich Philosophie an der Universität Genf und doktorierte an der HSG zur Rechts- und Staatslehre von Adam Smith. Er war mehr als zwei Jahrzehnte lang beratend für die Zürcher Kantonsregierung tätig, unter anderem als Leiter der Aussenbeziehungen des Kantons. Daneben unterrichtete er immer wieder an unterschiedlichen Universitäten, darunter natürlich auch an seiner Alma Mater in St.Gallen. Lesetipp: «American Politics. The Promise of Disharmony» von Samuel P. Huntington

    Episode 52 – «Founding Frenemies». Gründerväter im Zwiegespräch

  5. Sep 3

    Episode 51 – Glaube und Macht. Amerikas Katholiken

    Noch zur Gründungszeit waren Amerikas Katholiken eine Minderheit, die in vielen der ehemaligen Kolonien von der politischen Teilhabe ausgeschlossen waren. Doch schon im frühen 19. Jahrhundert wurde ihre Kirche zur mitgliederstärksten im Land, was sie bis heute geblieben ist: Rund ein Fünftel der Amerikaner sind römisch-katholisch. Allerdings spiegelte sich dies lange nicht in politischer Macht: John F. Kennedy kämpfte bei seiner Wahl zum ersten katholischen Präsidenten noch gegen Vorurteile, er würde sich mehr dem Vatikan denn der amerikanischen Verfassung verpflichtet fühlen. Als mit Joe Biden der zweite Katholik ins Oval Office gewählt wurde, hatten sich die Verhältnisse grundlegend geändert. Mittlerweile ist die Rede von einem «Catholic moment», in dem so viele Katholiken wie nie zentrale Machtpositionen besetzen: Die Mehrheit des Supreme Courts ist katholisch oder katholisch sozialisiert, ebenso der Aussenminister Marco Rubio und der Vizepräsident, der Konvertit JD Vance. Dem Verhältnis zwischen katholischer Kirche und der US-Politik widmet sich Professor Benjamin Dahlke in seinem jüngsten Buch One Nation under God (Herder, 2026). Der Theologe und Priester hat seit 2021 die Professur für Dogmatik und Dogmengeschichte an der Theologischen Fakultät der Katholischen Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt inne. Studium, Doktorat und Habilitation führten ihn an die Universitäten Paderborn, München, Mainz und Princeton. Zudem war er Gastforscher respektive -professor am Boston College und an der University of Notre Dame. Buchtipp: «Furious Minds. The Making of the MAGA New Right» von Laura K. Field (Princeton University Press, 2025)

    Episode 51 – Glaube und Macht. Amerikas Katholiken

  6. Jul 7

    Episode 50 – The Five Stages of Grief and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s Legacy

    Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance: the five stages of grief are nowadays part of popular knowledge, so much so that they have been spoofed several times in The Simpsons. It is less known that it was a Swiss-American psychiatrist who defined “DABDA.” Elisabeth Kübler-Ross was born a century ago in Zurich (July 8, 1926) where she would be among the few female medical students before moving to the United States. In 1967, she began interviewing dying patients at the University of Chicago’s Billings Hospital on which she based her groundbreaking bestseller On Death and Dying (1969). Together with Prof. Anna Magdalena Elsner, we look at Kübler-Ross’s legacy beyond the five stages of grief. Anna Magdalena Elsner is Associate Professor of French Studies and Medical Humanities at the University of St.Gallen. Her work on death, dying, and mourning in twentieth-century and contemporary French literature, philosophy and film aims to foster a culture of critical as well as transdisciplinary thinking about medicine, care and the end of life. She is the principal investigator of Assisted Lab, an ERC project that engages with the aesthetics, laws, and ethics of assisted dying. Anna holds a BA in philosophy and modern languages from Oxford University and obtained her PhD in 2011 from the University of Cambridge. She is the author of Mourning and Creativity in Proust (Palgrave, 2017) and the co-editor of The Proustian Mind (Routledge, 2022) and Literature and Medicine (Cambridge UP, 2024).

    Episode 50 – The Five Stages of Grief and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s Legacy

  7. Jun 12

    Episode 49 – Soccer in a Football Nation II – Going the College Route

    While the odds of the United States men's national soccer team winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup are much lower than many Americans believe, the women’s team (USWNT) has long been a force to be reckoned with. The USWNT won the World Cup four times and became five times Olympic champions. Mia Hamm, Megan Rapino, and Abby Warmbach are household names – and they all honed their skills as college players. Why is collegiate soccer still the most popular route to take for female players? What difference thus it make to play soccer in college instead of a club? Emmental native Alina Brühlmeier has started her soccer career in a Swiss club, but then seized the opportunity to join a US College team: after her commercial apprenticeship (KV), she joined the Hawkeye RedTails in Iowa. Now she is finishing her Bachelor’s degree in finance – and playing soccer at Webber International University in Florida.

    Episode 49 – Soccer in a Football Nation II – Going the College Route

  8. May 31

    Episode 48 – Soccer in a Football Nation I – US Soccer History

    On June 11, the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off with Mexico playing against South Africa. While Mexico, Canada, and the United States are hosting this World Cup together, the majority of matches will take place on American soil in stadiums that have originally been built for different sports. Already the fact that Americans call the world’s favorite sports “soccer” underlines its peculiar status in a “football nation.” But while earlier professional soccer leagues struggled to attract both spectators and investors, the MLS has started to gain supporters and the number of American kids playing soccer keeps rising. President Donald J. Trump even suggested a year ago that American football should rename itself and allow soccer to become football. Might the 2026 World Cup propel men’s soccer to the same status currently held by baseball and football? And why did soccer fail to launch when other pastimes became established at American colleges? Is American soccer any different from the way Europeans play? Who better to ask than the author of Soccer in American Culture: The Beautiful Game’s Struggle for Status (University of Missouri Press, 2022), a Choice Outstanding Academic Title. Professor White used to play soccer himself for Andover and Amherst, and also coached girls’ soccer. G. Edward White is David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia Law School. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow, and twice a senior fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, a fellow of the Society of American Historians, and a member of the American Law Institute. White’s 20 published books have won numerous honors and awards, among them a final listing for the Pulitzer Prize in history. His academic career included appointments across the United States as well as at the University of Auckland (New Zealand) and at the London School of Economics. He originally studied at Amherst College, went on to Yale University for a doctorate in American Studies, before he obtained his J.D. from Harvard Law School.

    Episode 48 – Soccer in a Football Nation I – US Soccer History
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Since January 20, 2025, we are officially in the era of Trump 2.0. But is it, will it be any different from Trump 1.0? And what do the events across the Atlantic mean for us in Europe?  My name is Claudia Franziska Brühwiler, and I am a professor of American Political Thought and Culture at the University of St.Gallen.  This podcast will take a closer look at current events through the lens of American history, politics, and culture. Sometimes, I will keep it short and share with you my analysis, thoughts, or some background story to what is happening. At other occasions, we will hear from guests from across the HSG community and beyond, who give us new insights into US politics, business, culture, and society.   We will look at the US from the perspective of its sister republic Switzerland. We often get hung up on what separates the US from Switzerland, while in fact we share not only great economic relations. Did you know, for instance, that America’s longest serving finance minister was born in Geneva – and one of our past Federal Councillors had fought in the Civil War? There’s a lot to discover – so I hope you’ll join us!  Cover Art: Anne Fritsch

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