How did Germany rank in the Index of Economic Freedom? Click here to find out. Read More.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's re-election was secured thanks to the near-collapse of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the strong performance of the classical liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP). Read More.
As the European economic crisis once again comes to a boil, many wonder how the Europeans put themselves in such hot water. This is a political crisis on top of an unemployment crisis, which bubbles on top of a fiscal crisis, underneath which is the critical element of an unsustainable imbalance in trade flows. While the trade imbalances within Europe have many causes,…
The race to save the Euro lumbers on. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have done a deal for a new European intergovernmental agreement. It’s not an EU agreement, formally, but that’s the way it will work in practice. Nations will have to vet their budgets with Brussels before their national parliament gets a vote. Any country…
Can a nation spend its way to prosperity? We don't have to guess. The experience of two countries over the last year - Germany and the United States - provides an answer. Prior to last summer's summit of the G-20 group of nations, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spurned President Obama's call to boost spending. For Merkel, control of government debt was the…
Sally McNamara comments on Angela Merkel's claim that German multiculturalism has been a failure.…
Abstract: The pretense that the European Union is successful and stable—and that the euro is a successful and stable currency—has been exploded by events surrounding the financial bailout of Greece. No one knows where the contagion will spread or how it may end. The world’s financial markets have occasionally teetered on the edge of panic. But the full implications of…
Nile Gardiner discusses a potential EU bailout for Greece on Fox News's Special Report.…
In April 2009—less than three months into his term of office—President Barack Obama laid out the centerpiece of his foreign policy vision for his Administration: the global eradication of nuclear weapons. Citing America’s atomic strikes against the Japanese Empire during World War II, President Obama stated that America has a “moral responsibility” to walk the “road to…
Testimony before theU.S.-China Economic and Security Review CommissionFebruary 25, 2009 The debate over the nature and implications of Chinese investment around the globe suffers badly from too much speculation and too few facts. It is in the PRC's interest to dampen the former by addressing the latter. However, there is very recent evidence that domestic political…
Nile Gardiner discussing Germany's Angela Merkel's refusal to bail out Greece.…
On February 7, Ukrainians elected former Prime Minister Victor Yanukovych as president, a defeat for current Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The first round of elections, held on January 17, appeared to be free and fair. The U.S. embassy and OSCE concluded that the second round of runoff elections were free and fair as well. Ukrainian courts may review some of…
Abstract: "The fall of the [Soviet] empire," former Czech president Vaclav Havel wrote, "is an event on the same scale of historical importance as the fall of the Roman Empire." It is true that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev repudiated the Brezhnev Doctrine--that the Soviet Union will use force if necessary to ensure that a socialist state remains socialist--and in so…
The huge controversy in Germany over the Khaled al-Masri case does not bode well for transatlantic cooperation in the war against Al Qaeda. Prosecutors in Munich have issued warrants for the arrest of 13 alleged CIA agents, prompting growing concern in Washington regarding Germany's commitment to aggressively fighting the war against terrorism. It threatens to derail…
Executive Summary Abstract: President Barack Obama recently announced a new strategy to lead the 43-nation NATO International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan to victory. Upon the request of General Stanley McChrystal, President Obama has ordered the deployment of 30,000 additional U.S. troops to…
The Arctic is quickly reemerging as a strategic area where vital U.S. interests are at stake. The geopolitical and geo-economic importance of the Arctic region is rising rapidly, and its mineral wealth will likely transform the region into a booming economic frontier in the 21st century. The coasts and continental shelf of the Arctic Ocean are estimated to hold large…
The Bush Administration and Congress should strongly condemn Germany's extraordinary decision to release convicted terrorist and murderer Mohammad Ali Hammadi. Hammadi's release last month and subsequent transfer to Lebanon raise major questions about Germany's commitment to the war on terror and will cast a shadow over the January 11 White House meeting between…
Full Text At the end of August, U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, advised the Obama Administration that the mission in Afghanistan "will likely result in failure" unless the U.S. and NATO implement a new counterinsurgency strategy backed by a significant surge of up to 80,000 additional U.S. troops. Importantly, he noted…
Abstract: Russia's revenues from oil and natural gas are enabling its aggressive and often anti-Western foreign policy. Russia's falling economic performance has toned down Russia's rhetoric, but has not drastically changed Russia's foreign policy narrative, which remains decidedly anti- status quo and implicitly anti-American. The U.S. needs to devise incentives for…
President George W. Bush travels to Germany this week to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the G-8 summit in Moscow. In her first months as German leader, Merkel has made a significant effort to improve relations between Washington and Berlin in the wake of the tensions produced by disagreements over the war in Iraq.[1] The overt hostility that characterized…
Definition of an American neo-conservative: A liberal mugged by reality. The new poster child for the budding...…
It has been announced that U.S. Marines will soon be arriving at a small American air base in Spain to form a U.S....…
As opposition to the euro continues to build within the eurozone, Germany, the motor of the eurozone—frankly, the only...…
January’s unemployment numbers for the 17 countries of the eurozone has moved closer to 12 percent. This underscores...…
March 5 marks the 60th anniversary of Joseph Stalin’s death. One of the most infamous leaders of the 20thcentury,...…
Europe is once again teaching America a lesson in what not to do on energy policy. A resolution Germany’s upper house...…
Bulgarian authorities yesterday accused Hezbollah of perpetrating a bombing that killed six people last summer, a...…
More than 20 years have passed since the Soviet empire collapsed. Telling its history to new generations here and in...…
A blackout occurred in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, as more than 8 million people in the northeast were left without...…
In an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine on Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti warned of the...…