Schloss Neuhardenberg Archive - Atlantik-Brücke e.V.

50 years of joined responsibility in the democratic West

r.fehrenbach — Mon, 04 Sep 2023 16:00:45 +0000

This year’s Young Leaders Conference is a special one: Atlantik-Brücke has been running this program for fifty years. Every year since 1973 we bring together 25 young high potentials each from the United States and Germany and we offer an inspiring program. What becomes of it, that is in the hands of the participants. Over the past five decades, diverse networks have emerged, friendships, communities of interest, cooperation – and above all there is the idea that the partners of the transatlantic West – for historical and cultural reasons – have a high degree of joined responsibility.

[related]In his famous and impressive work “A History of the West” the German Historian Heinrich August Winkler[1]offers a historiographical work that sees the transatlantic space in the northern hemisphere constituted by a normative project, namely that of “the American Revolution in 1776 and the French Revolution in 1789 in the form of indispensable human rights, the rule of law, the separation of powers, popular sovereignty and representative democracy”. This normative project is “what holds the West together at its core and what makes global appeal more than ever”.

And: The project of the West also involves those who have gone astray in a catastrophic way as a second chance. In this sense, the founding of the Atlantik-Brücke in 1952 was a signal that a few years after the World War II and the catastrophe of the Holocaust Germany got the chance to return to the civilized world. In addition to the “never again” came the other basic conviction of the second German democracy: “never alone”. And this “never alone” finds its special expression in the founding of the Atlantik-Brücke in the year 1952 and in the start of the Young Leaders program a good 20 years later.

In addition to the “never again” came the other basic conviction of the second German democracy: “never alone”. And this “never alone” finds its special expression in the founding of the Atlantik-Brücke in the year 1952 and in the start of the Young Leaders program a good 20 years later.

In 1973, like today, but for different reasons, there was a great need to give new impetus to civil society exchange between Germany and the USA. The particularly challenging developments were:

The collapse of the world currency system of Bretton Woods. As early as August 15, 1971, the United States had unilaterally broken its promise to exchange the dollar for gold at any time. This process went down in currency history as the “Nixon shock”. The peg to the dollar became a problem for many partners because America’s inflationary monetary policy took no account of other countries. U.S. Treasury Secretary John Connally’s blunt statement, “the dollar is our currency, but your problem” remained relevant. Foreign central banks lost interest in importing inflationary pressures from the US into their own country via fixed exchange rates. They began phasing out their interventions to support the dollar. In 1973 the Bretton Woods system finally came to an end.
The first and most serious oil price crisis in the autumn 1973, caused by the Yom Kippur War. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut production by about five percent to pressure Western countries for their support of Israel. On October 17, 1973, the price of oil rose from around 3 US-Dollar per barrel to over 5 US-Dollar, an increase of about 70 percent. Over the course of the following year, the world oil price rose to over 12 US-Dollar per barrel, although traded volumes had returned to normal. The global oil market has been a political market ever since.

The course was set anew in the year of 1973 in terms of monetary policy and energy policy. That required international cooperation and transatlantic partnership. The conditions for this were by no means easy and good. In the United States, President Nixon came under increasing pressure from the Watergate affair, and an impeachment became more and more likely. In the Federal Republic of Germany, Chancellor Willi Brandt was under pressure after his reputation had peaked in the light of Ostpolitik and the Nobel Peace Prize especially as the price-wage spiral had been set in motion with the wage round in the public sector (Klunker round).

During this confusing time, which was still characterized by the West-East conflict, the idea arose to develop a new format for the exchange between interested but not yet established transatlanticists in Germany and the US. In view of this attractive offer, it is not surprising that already the alumni from the first year include distinguished individuals such as Hans-Gert Pöttering, former President of the European Parliament, US Senator Chuck Schumer, and Max Warburg.

In the now fifty years of our Young Leader program, a network of committed transatlanticists has established who, coming from their different worlds of experience, cultural backgrounds, and professions, are committed to the idea of the Atlantik-Brücke in a variety of responsibilities. If the decision to set up the Young Leaders program had not been made in 1973, it would be high time now. Because global change has reached a new level, which intensifies political, social, and economic upheavals and, through the simultaneity, creates a historical challenge and shapes the concept of the turning point in time (Zeitenwende).

If the decision to set up the Young Leaders program had not been made in 1973, it would be high time now.

What we are now experiencing is nothing less than the end of European modernity, which was also a transatlantic modernity. Modernization began after 1800 with the industrial revolution and paved the way for human self-empowerment against the background of the French and American revolutions. Starting in the transatlantic West, this promise of freedom, responsibility and prosperity made its unstoppable march through the world – of course not without setbacks, not without conflicts, not without doubt. In any case, the fall of the Iron Curtain was associated with the expectation that this triumphal procession would now finally be fulfilled globally – the normative project of the West would become the undisputed standard.

President George Bush Sr. expressed the expectation in 1992, in the spirit of this modernization hypothesis, that China would inevitably become a democracy if trade was carried out intensively enough with the country. Today we know that this expectation was wrong; the system competition turned into a sharp system conflict.

Even more: the turning point in time (Zeitenwende) reveals that the world is losing its European, even its transatlantic character. Because two fundamental factors are changing that have carried this European modernization over the past two centuries: The use of fossil fuels is coming to an end in the foreseeable future, which we now must and want to approach with great strides. And with the shrinkage of the labour force potential, overcoming the Malthusian population trap associated with the industrial revolution turns into the challenge of continuously adapting the economic system to this shrinkage. We are not well prepared for this, neither in terms of economic theory nor in terms of economic policy.

Therefore, it is even more important that we in the democracies of the West exchange experiences on how this double transformation can succeed, how climate neutrality can be achieved with a shrinking population. We need all the advances in efficiency that are conceivable. And they will have the best chance of being embedded in civil society in western democracies. However, this only becomes an attractive role model for other regions of the world if one’s own learning is critically monitored. The Young Leaders Program is of particular importance here, as an institutionalized bridge of experience across the Atlantic.

As if that weren’t enough to intensively strengthen the exchange in the transatlantic West, the Russian aggression is challenging us in a new way, at least one that we thought was overcome. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine may be the latest global conflict that has its origins and development in Europe and its history and that asked other regions of the world to take a position. However, many states in the Global South are already unwilling to sanction Russia’s blatant violation of international law in the same way as the states of the transatlantic West are doing. This reflects the tectonic shifts in world politics.

The important periods of worldwide economic exchange and interaction were always dominated by a political hegemon. This was true in the 19th century with the Pax Britannica and in the 20th century with the Pax Americana. This will no longer apply to the next phase of globalization, the interests are too different, the economic perspectives are too diverse, and the global power competition is too important. Despite all the political changes in the USA, Barack Obama’s Pivot-to-Asia strategy remains a challenge for the Europeans, because it not only reflects a change in political priorities, but also the socio-structural change resulting from the continuous shift in the centre of population of the USA from the north-east to the southwest. The majority of Americans are now closer to the Pacific than to the Atlantic.

The world is drifting apart differently than expected 30 years ago, the market economy does not automatically lead to democratization, and it also lives without civil society – at least as far as we are experiencing the process. The transatlantic West, on the other hand, stands for exactly this triad: democracy – market economy – civil society. This results in our special responsibility in the changing times.

For more and more people, the feeling of being overwhelmed weakens the hope of being able to reap the fruits of freedom. Our daily life is subject to interventions based on decisions made far from home. This fact fuels resistance to the networks and dependencies of globalization.

Of course, we are also under pressure in our societies: right-wing populism, disappointment with democracy and mistrust of institutions are the hallmarks of a development that can only be observed in nuances in almost all western democracies. As at the end of the 19th century – the time that went down in the history books culturally interpreted as the fin de siècle – we are once again stating exhaustion and tiredness with slight irritability as a socially dominant phenomenon. For more and more people, the feeling of being overwhelmed weakens the hope of being able to reap the fruits of freedom. Our daily life is subject to interventions based on decisions made far from home. This fact fuels resistance to the networks and dependencies of globalization.

Globalization is inextricably linked to the creation of mutual – mind you, mutual – dependencies. This may sometimes be opaque and trigger resistance. On the other hand, only transparent communication, personal experience and “friendly conversations in public spaces” (Hannah Arendt) can help. This is the only way we can prevent hierarchies from destroying the networks again.[2] And we have to be careful not to undermine globalization ourselves through controls, barriers and bans for fear of resistance to it. When the freedom of others causes fear and opposes the space for one’s own active, positive freedom to shape things, then it is all the more important to live together democracy, market economy and civil society.

In this tangle of our time, orientation is even more necessary. For us Germans, the following still applies: “never again” and “never alone”. For this we are referred to the functional core of our institutions and systems, and it is of great importance to win new partners and friends in the world again and again. That is the current special purpose of the Atlantik-Brücke’s Young Leaders Program, but also of our teachers travels and the New Bridge Program started in 2021. Victor Hugo said, “Nothing in the world is so powerful as an idea whose time has come”. That was true of the Young Leaders program in 1973, and it is true today.

I wish all past and future participants continued interesting conversations, insights, contacts, and new friendships. Or in the words of the German historian Heinrich August Winkler: “The history of the West is an open story, far from being told, because the subversive power of the ideas of 1776 and 1789 is far from exhausted and the normative project regarding the universality of human rights is unfinished. … The West would give itself up if it accepted this state of affairs.” That’s why the Atlantik-Brücke continues to be so contemporary. But unlike for a long time since 1952, we must stand up for the normative project of the West in our own Western societies. To do this, we need each other just as much as we used to in the exchange with third parties. You could also say that this is the new joint mission.

Today, this provides an answer to the question of the content of the transatlantic relationship, the answer to which Henry Kissinger so urgently demanded thirty years ago: “We can speak about the necessity of German-American friendship, European unity, or Atlantic partnership, but the real challenge is that any relationship that does not define what we can do together is doomed to becoming formalistic and, after a while, drained of content. The challenge of our period, then, is not to affirm our friendship, but to affirm what actions we can take together and the purposes we can fulfil”.[3]

[1] Heinrich August Winkler: Geschichte des Westens. Four Volumes, C.H. Beck: Munich 2009-2015.

[2] Niall Ferguson, The Square and the Tower: Networks, Hierarchies and the Struggle for Global Power. Penguin: New York 2018.

[3] Henry A. Kissinger, Thoughts on Europe, America and “The New World Order”. Arthur Burns Lecture, Atlantik-Brücke, Hamburg, May 25, 1992.

Prof. Dr. Michael Hüther is the Director of the German Economic Institute and Vice Chairman of Atlantik-Brücke. You can learn more about him here.

Der Beitrag 50 years of joined responsibility in the democratic West erschien zuerst auf Atlantik-Brücke e.V..

Engaging in conversations, exploring solutions, forming friendships

r.fehrenbach — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 13:55:02 +0000

This year’s German-American Young Leaders Conference of Atlantik-Brücke was held at Schloss Neuhardenberg in Brandenburg from August 12-18, as the program celebrated its 50^th anniversary. In addition to a thought-provoking week filled with discussions on a broad array of topics relevant to the transatlantic partnership, this year’s cohort was fortunate to experience an alumni reunion with Young Leaders from programs across the 50 years.

by Ryan Millerick and Hubertus Riedesel Freiherr zu Eisenbach

What matters

Over the course of the week, we had the opportunity to hear from a plethora of diverse, high-level leaders across many disciplines. The list of esteemed guest speakers even included three Ministers/Ministers of State from the current government. In addition, we spent two days at the epicenter of German power and politics in Berlin with various onsite visits.

[related]Already on the first evening, the group had the pleasure of welcoming Minister Klara Geywitz. She not only shared remarks on urban development and participated in a discussion on what the US and Germany can learn from each other, but also took time to connect with us Young Leaders over dinner. This set the stage for the intensely packed and high-caliber days to follow.

Throughout the week we engaged in deep conversations with experts on critical current topics. Colonel Jill Long shared her perspective on leadership through her experience in the US Air Force. Prof. Dr. Andreas Dombret, former member of the Board of the German Bundesbank, shared his thoughts on the “Three I’s: Invasion, Inflation and Interest rates”, sparking vivid conversations on global economic structures. Dr. Mareike Ohlberg offered her insights and expertise on China strategies, highlighting the need for transatlantic cooperation. A further session focused on Germany’s “Zeitenwende” and the state of the German military with Colonel Frank Reiser and LTC Sebastian Bley from the German Army Headquarters. It was a pleasure to discuss matters of transatlantic and international security in such an open and trusting atmosphere. Another dialogue on voter identity was led by journalist Martin Klingst, who has spent extended time interviewing Trump voters in the US and AfD voters in Germany.

The first of two day trips to Berlin began with a visit to the AI Campus of Merantix in Berlin, where we learned about visionary startup ideas who are leveraging the potential of AI. Later, at the Federal Chancellery, we had a thorough discussion with Minister Wolfgang Schmidt, who shared intimate insights on his day-to-day work in German politics, as well as his view on current transatlantic and global challenges. As if this wasn’t enough, we also got to visit the ARD Capital Studio and met with Tina Hassel, who provided her own perspective on some of the topics we addressed in the Chancellery. What a great way to compare notes, contrast perspectives on current issues and see the media at work.

The second day in Berlin began directly in the seat of German democracy at the Bundestag. Minister of State in the Federal Foreign Office Dr. Tobias Lindner, a Young Leader himself, engaged in a lively discourse with us about both the transatlantic partnership as well as Germany’s role on the world stage. Our cohort’s Members of Parliament then led us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Bundestag, sharing their own stories and offering insights into their daily work. The day was capped off back in the private sector, as Google opened their doors for us and provided an insightful panel on AI and Machine Learning, featuring Eveline Metzen, Michael Neuber and Slav Petrov. What a week!

What really matters

In addition to the thought-provoking sessions with the guest speakers, we split up into working groups ourselves, in order to explore creative solutions to tackle several pressing issues. The following four topics were intensively discussed and worked on, culminating in short policy suggestions which can be found in separate documents:

Through extended discussions on these critical topics, we enjoyed immensely hearing the different perspectives around the table that come with the diverse backgrounds of our fellow Young Leaders. Learning from each other in the working groups was an enriching aspect of the week.

What matters most

Aside from the official part of the program, a unanimous highlight of the conference was simply getting to know each other and ultimately forming what will become deep and fruitful friendships, beyond a professional network. We certainly made use of the evenings, with or without the occasional glass of wine, exchanged stories, compared notes on the day and the speakers, enjoyed each other’s company and had a laugh. This personal connection is what building transatlantic relationships is all about.

Lucky for us, we not only got to know each other in our cohort, but we also coincidentally got to know many Young Leaders alumni who joined the 50^th program anniversary celebrations on the second to last day. As part of the evening’s official agenda, Prof. Dr. Michael Hüther offered opening remarks on the last fifty years of the transatlantic relationship, followed by a panel discussion with Dr. Joachim Freiherr von Falkenhausen, Christiane Hoffmann, Sarah Kelly, and Theo Koll, moderated by Atlantik-Brücke CEO Julia Friedlander. The evening was filled with many inspiring conversations across the Young Leaders cohorts, which instilled an immediate sense of community on us. What an honor to be welcomed into such an open-minded network.

We whole-heartedly thank the Atlantik-Brücke team and the selection committee for what will prove to be a life-changing week for us.

Der Beitrag Engaging in conversations, exploring solutions, forming friendships erschien zuerst auf Atlantik-Brücke e.V..