The Zeitgeist AICGS | American Institute for Contemporary German Studies

In a stark display of their economic power following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States and its allies deployed an array of sanctions aimed at curtailing Russia’s access to global financial markets and industrial supply chains. These unprecedented economic sanctions are intended to diminish the resources Russia has available to prosecute its war. While the moves have demonstrated a high degree of allied cooperation, they have also heightened debate about the relative effectiveness of economic measures aimed to induce peaceful behavior or to deter hostilities vs. as punishment for aggression after the fact.

On this episode of The Zeitgeist, AICGS President Jeff Rathke and Peter Rashish, Director of the AICGS Geoeconomics Program, discuss economic power with Barry Eichengreen, George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Political Science at University of California, Berkeley. How effective are economic sanctions? Is there a risk that U.S. and allied economic power will diminish as countries seek to develop alternatives to the current international order and its economic and financial institutions? Would nearshoring or friendshoring increase U.S. economic power? And can the U.S. and like-minded countries still craft policies toward China that incentivize mutually beneficial interdependence?



Host

Jeff Rathke, President, AICGS

Guest

Barry Eichengreen, George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Political Science, University of California, Berkeley

Peter Rashish, AICGS Senior Fellow; Director, Geoeconomics Program

On this episode of The Zeitgeist, AICGS President Jeff Rathke is joined by Alex Sängerlaub, the director and co-founder of futur eins in Berlin, and Rebekah Tromble, Associate Professor and Director of the Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics at the George Washington University, as they discuss the spread of misinformation and disinformation in Germany and the United States. How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected the spread of misinformation? Are Americans and Germans “media literate” enough to distinguish between real and false information? What forces are shaping the public’s perception of news and media and their trust in institutions and expertise? How does the media landscape in Germany and the United States affect the countries’ approaches to tackling the issue of misinformation? Is it possible for governments to quickly enact effective laws and regulations in the EU and the United States?



Host

Jeff Rathke, President, AICGS

Guest

Alexander Sängerlaub, director and co-founder, futur eins

Rebekah Tromble, Associate Professor, School of Media and Public Affairs and Director, Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics (IDDP), George Washington University



This podcast episode is part of the AICGS project “The Importance of the Transatlantic Partnership in Times of Global Crises” and is generously funded by the the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

On this episode of The Zeitgeist, AICGS President Jeff Rathke discusses the experience of managing the COVID-19 pandemic and lessons for public health policy in Germany and the United States with Arielle Kane, director of healthcare at the Progressive Policy Institute, and Philipp Heuermann, MPA candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. How has the public’s trust in government institutions and scientific expertise impacted both countries’ covid responses? Has the pandemic changed the population health profile and introduced new vulnerabilities in our healthcare infrastructure? Are the public health systems in Germany and the United States ready to deal with a surge in long-term chronic care as COVID-19 becomes endemic? How should prosperous nations manage innovation collaboration and healthcare worker mobility while taking a global view on emerging public health challenges?



Host

Jeff Rathke, President, AICGS

Guest

Philipp Heuermann, MPA candidate, Harvard Kennedy School

Arielle Kane, Director of Healthcare, Progressive Policy Institute



This podcast episode is part of the AICGS project “The Importance of the Transatlantic Partnership in Times of Global Crises” and is generously funded by the the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

On this episode of The Zeitgeist, AICGS President Jeff Rathke talks with participants in the AICGS project on social divisions in Germany and the United States, which recently visited Buffalo, NY. Deanna Troust, founder of 3 Stories Communications based in Washington, DC; Mohammad Khanjar, PR consultant at Scholz & Friends in Berlin, Germany; and Elizabeth Hotary, AICGS Program Officer, shared their impressions and findings. In Buffalo, the participants explored the experiences and challenges of economic and demographic change as well as their impact on society and politics with representatives of local government, civil society organizations, and academic research institutions. Deanna Troust and Mohammad Khanjar discuss the local community engagement initiatives’ creative efforts to serve the needs of diverse communities and help bridge social and economic divisions in Buffalo and explore parallels and divergences between Buffalo and Dortmund, Germany, which the participants visited earlier this year.

The AICGS project “Social Divisions and Questions of Identity in Germany and the United States” seeks to establish new connections within and between communities and is supported by the Transatlantic Program of the Federal Republic of Germany, funded by the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).



Host

Jeff Rathke, President, AICGS

Guests

Elizabeth Hotary, Program Officer, Foreign & Security Policy and Society, Culture & Politics, AICGS

Mohammad Khanjar, PR consultant, Scholz & Friends

Deanna Troust, Founder, 3 Stories Communications

While the U.S. and German governments successfully adopted expansionary fiscal policies to deal with massive economic disruptions brought about by the COVID 19 pandemic, they are now faced with new challenges as Russia’s invasion in Ukraine and China’s persistent pandemic measures have further disrupted global supply chains, driven up inflation, set off a race to secure alternative energy sources, and muddled the trajectory of climate policy on both sides of the Atlantic.

On this episode of The Zeitgeist, AICGS President Jeff Rathke and Geoeconomics Program Director Peter Rashish talk with Matthias Matthijs, Senior Fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations and Associate Professor of international political economy at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and Katharina Gnath, Senior Project Manager at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, about the economic challenges the United States and Europe are grappling with. Will the war in Ukraine foster long-term changes in Germany’s economic policy, despite the commitment to return to the country’s debt brake? Can the EU member states overcome their differences over national fiscal policy and Eurozone debt financing? What are the risks of diverging U.S. and EU approaches to energy and climate policy? Is the G7 group still able to play an effective role in coordinating macroeconomic policies?



Host

Jeff Rathke, President, AICGS

Guest

Katharina Gnath, Senior Project Manager, Bertelsmann Stiftung

Matthias Matthijs, Associate Professor of international political economy, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)

Peter S. Rashish, Senior Fellow & Director, Geoeconomics Program, AICGS

This month’s election in Germany’s largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia, saw a resurgence of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), growing support for the Green Party, further decline of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and a slump for the Free Democratic Party (FDP). Just a week earlier in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, the CDU scored a major victory and the Greens became the second largest party ahead of the SPD and the FDP, its coalition partners in the federal government led by Chancellor Scholz.

On this episode of the Zeitgeist, AICGS President Jeff Rathke, AICGS Senior Fellow and Director of Society, Culture, and Politics Program Eric Langenbacher and AICGS Non-Resident Senior Fellow Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger discuss the national (and local) significance of these elections and their importance for German political parties. Are the election successes for the Greens indicative of public endorsement for the party’s clear and tough value-based foreign policy stance? Can the CDU’s recent election victories be attributed to its party leader Friedrich Merz? How could the SPD’s weakened local political support affect Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s leadership and the German government’s policies?



Host

Jeff Rathke, President, AICGS

Guest

Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger, AICGS Non-Resident Senior Fellow

Eric Langenbacher, AICGS Senior Fellow; Director, Society, Culture & Politics Program