On Wednesday, January 6, the world was watching as thousands of pro-Trump protesters convened outside the U.S. Capitol. They disrupted a joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes and formalize Joe Biden’s election victory. After breaching the perimeter, the rioters occupied and vandalized parts of the building. Reporting from Washington, DC, Juliane Schäuble, the...

The recent attack on the U.S. Capitol and incidents in other Western democracies – such as the attempt to storm the Reichstag building in Berlin in August 2020 – demonstrate how fragile our democracies are. Are the aspiration and promise of our liberal constitutions an illusion? How resilient are our democratic institutions and practices in...

After France’s President Emmanuel Macron said NATO was suffering “brain death” in November 2019, Alliance leaders asked the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to engage a forward-looking assessment of how to strengthen the political dimension of the NATO Alliance – in an effort to keep the organization relevant and vibrant as it faces new challenges...

America has voted. On January 20, Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. Rarely has a U.S. presidential transition sparked as much attention – and concern – as the current one. Themed “America United,” Biden's inauguration ceremony is intended to mark a new chapter in bringing the country together. To conclude our Road to Election Night & Beyond series,...

The corona virus crisis disrupted the lives of millions of people in Europe and the U.S. Beginning in March, non-essential businesses were closed, workers were furloughed or laid off – or in Germany subject to Kurzarbeit. In the U.S. schools and daycare centers were shuttered. In Germany and the U.S., families struggle to come to...