Diplomacy and International Politics

On March 31,  the Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship and the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies hosted a discussion with Wolfgang Ischinger, former Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Joseph S. Nye Jr., Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor, and Daniela Schwarzer, Executive Director for Europe and Eurasia at the Open Society Foundations, on how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as the brutality of its action has caused an unexpected reversal of Germany’s long time security policy and led to strong reactions in the rest of Europe, NATO, and the posture of the Biden administration. The seminar examined the dimensions and consequences of these developments for the future of the EU and the West. Karl Kaiser, Senior Fellow at the Project on Europe, moderated.

The 2020 US presidential elections deepened the political divide between Republicans and Democrats. Joe Biden has now been President for 100 days and the debates seem to have calmed down. Can he really bring people closer together again? How does his ambitious investment program work? And what role does social media play now? [translated from German; interview in German]

A committed climate policy, billions of dollars for infrastructure, extensive social spending, condemnation of racism and predictable foreign policy — Joe Biden's agenda is clearly  different from that of his predecessor. The question is: what can he actually implement? [translated from German; interview in German]

The secretary of state has postponed diplomatic travel during the coronavirus pandemic, which experts say is a challenge at a moment of flux in the world.

The inauguration of Joe Biden was marked by strict security requirements and COVID-19 protocols, but it still proceeded smoothly. Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook sums up the most important challenges now awaiting the 46th U.S. president.  [translated from German; interview in German]

After Joe Biden is sworn in as the next President, he wants to reverse a number of measures taken by his predecessor Donald Trump. Will Biden manage to bring the country back to normal? Alexander Kähler discusses with Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson (KCRW Berlin), Christoph von Marschall (Der Tagesspiegel), Majid Sattar (FAZ Washington) and Cathryn Clüver-Ashbrook (political scientist Harvard Kennedy School). [translated from German; interview in German]

On Wednesday, Joe Biden will be sworn in as the President of a nation at a pivotal moment, and the world will be watching because all democracies are in this moment together.

The view from Biden's podium at the United States Capitol, looking down over Washington DC's National Mall, will not be pretty.

Storming the Capitol, shaking democracy - how dangerous are the days ahead of the transition of power for the United States? And even if Trump leaves the Oval Office, will he remain an eternal divider? Does the poison of his lies continue to have an effect in America, and does it perhaps continue to serve as a model for populists abroad? [translated from German, interview in German]

Harvard Kennedy School faculty share insights into the evident fragility of American democratic norms and institutions following the attack on the United States Capitol by followers of President Trump. These essays examine the nature and scale of the threat and weigh potential avenues for protecting and nurturing democracy. They were written before the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Trump on Wednesday for the second time.

Harvard Kennedy School political scientist, Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, attaches great importance to the new impeachment process. On Deutschlandfunk she said: “It's about the oldest functioning democracy in the world. It is about the status of the United States' global role model.” Which system will set the credible international frame for the future - authoritarian China or democracies like the USA and Europe? She added: "To protect democracy as such, the President must be stopped." [from German; interview in German]