Roland Freudenstein and GMF’s Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff have a spirited exchange over at the Centre for European Studies site over the correct approach of Western governments in dealing with Iran. Definitely worth a read.

By Jim Kolbe, Former Member of Congress and Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund Simon Evenett, Professor of International Trade and Economic Development, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Co-Director, International Trade Programme, CEPR

In their April meeting in London, G20 leaders pledged to “not repeat the historic mistakes of protectionism of previous eras.” But with many economies witnessing the sharpest falls in their exports in decades, and with unemployment rising to levels not seen since the early 1980s, fears are growing that governments may be tempted to renege on this pledge.

Although the world has not seen a return to … Continue Reading…

Four days after President Obama took the oath of office, his new Secretary of State stated boldly that she would welcome dissent.  Well, I’m going to take Secretary Clinton at her word.  Mrs. Clinton has it dead wrong in her concept of how to organize America’s foreign aid system.

Addressing her new State Department staff for the first … Continue Reading…

[In recent weeks, GMF Senior Resident Fellow Jim Kunder has served as an instructor in the U.S. Department of State (Foreign Service Institute) course on Foundations of Interagency Reconstruction and Stabilization.  The course, targeted at the new U.S. Government “Civilian Response Corps,” is intended to prepare civilian responders for deployment to conflict and post-conflict environments.]

In 2004, the U.S. Congress authorized the creation of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (CRS) within the Department … Continue Reading…

If last Sunday’s European vote was a sign of things to come for Germany’s federal election in the fall, then the country will be run by a Conservative-Liberal coalition after September 27.

Angela Merkel’s Conservative CDU and its Bavarian sister party CSU polled together at 37,8 percent, down from 44,5% in 2004 (42 seats, down from 49) – yet another manifestation of the Chancellor’s difficulties in translating her personal popularity into votes for her party. The fact that Merkel appears to have decided that the best way to campaign is not to campaign … Continue Reading…

Earlier this month, civic leaders in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (a part of GMF’s Transatlantic Cities Network) officially kicked off a two-year participatory regional visioning project. The aim of the project will be to draft a set of concrete goals – a “to-do list” – for the greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area, a 30-county region that spans four states and includes nearly 4 million residents.

Coordinators of the project, which is being headed up by former Pennsylvania State Senator Allen Kukovich, will focus on creating tools and forums to collect input from and build a consensus among the region’s residents, … Continue Reading…

GMF’s Asia fellow Dan Twining spoke with Al Jazeera’s Riz Khan about the outcome of India’s election and what it means for the world’s largest democracy. Continue Reading…

GMF’s Dan Twining talks to Reuters about Afghanistan and Pakistan.

A year ago there was a general sense of complacency and satisfaction among European policy makers that America’s financial problems were just that—America’s problems.  Then, there was a great deal of talk about global decoupling—or the ability of Europe and many emerging markets to go on their merry way notwithstanding the brewing financial storm in the United States.  Not only was the financial crisis “Made in America” and would be contained to the United States; many in Europe had a case of schandenfreude, with some speaking of the U.S. as a spent superpower, brought to its knees by American financial … Continue Reading…

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