The spread of COVID-19 and the ensuing global lock-down as governments try to slow the spread of the corona virus has tested individuals and institutions around the world. Since March of 2020, the ACG has stepped up its digital programming by hosting webinars and video discussions which bring together policy makers and thought leaders from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss some of the key issues shaping transatlantic relations in an unprecedented time. In addition to organizing events on its own, the ACG has also partnered with other organizations such as 1014 and Atlantik-Brücke to launch new series designed to reach beyond the ACG community.
With a projected winner of the U.S. election now named, the transatlantic partnership faces many challenges – and there is some anxiety about how relations across the Atlantic will develop in the months and years to come. On November 10, the ACG hosted a discussion with Bundestag Members Christoph Bernstiel (CDU), Metin Hakverdi (SPD), and Katja Keul (Greens) on the election results and what it means for the future of German-American relations.
This event is part of a series of [virtual] Transatlantic Town Halls: German Bundestag Member Dialogues, which is being organized by the American Council on Germany under the auspices of WunderbarTogether USA 2020, a comprehensive and collaborative initiative funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and implemented by the Goethe-Institut.
On November 9, the ACG and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall hosted a discussion with Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference and former German Ambassador to the United States, and Ambassador John B. Emerson, Chairman of American Council on Germany and former U.S. Ambassador to Germany. The two Ambassadors discussed the liberal world order.
On the eve of the U.S. presidential election, leading representatives of the transatlantic community came together in Berlin to preview possible outcomes and to voice their hopes, expectations, and concerns regarding the future of the Euro-American bond. This special format is part of the transatlantic virtual event series Road to Election Night & Beyond #R2EN, which is organized and hosted by several transatlantic institutions and political foundations. More information on the virtual series can be found at https://landing.berlin-election-night.de.
Public trust is critical in the functioning of democracies. Citizens do not need to agree with every government policy or trust each individual officeholder — but they do need to have confidence that democratic institutions and practices protect their interest, act responsibly, and uphold the rule of law. In recent years, in the United States and Europe public trust in government has declined.
On November 3, Election Day in the United States, the ACG and 1014 hosted a discussion with Thomas Carothers, Senior Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Laura Krause, Director of More in Common, Germany, on trust in democracy.
On October 29, the ACG and Atlantik-Brücke hosted a webinar as part of the [virtual] 2020 German-American Conference to discuss how transatlantic relations, and politics in general, can become more inclusive. The discussion featured Dr. Petra Bendel, Professor of Political Science, Erlangen-Nürnberg University; Congressman JoaquÃn Castro (D-TX), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; Janet MurguÃa, President and CEO, UNIDOS; Cem Özdemir, Member of the Bundestag (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) and Dr. Michael Werz (Moderator), Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress.