Germany - lost in transition?: Uncertainty, even ‘Angst’ is spreading among Germans about the future of their country which has to cope with three concurrent transformations: Digitalization, De-Carbonization and De-Risking in an aging society. We will analyze & discuss these structural challenges and will look at daily politics.

The course will cover (inter alia)

• Domestic Policy/ Economy:
  • Snap election („Bundestagswahl” 02/2025): results; coalition building; fragmentation of the party system: Decline of popular parties vs. rise of populist parties
  • Right wing extremism
  • Civil disobedience: Activist empowerment and basic law rights
  • Federal budget: Austerity vs. innovation?
  • Migration: Closing borders, ‚Rwanda Model‘ („Drittstaatenmodell“), ‚Skilled Immigration Act‘ („Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz“) ?
• Society: Current Debates
  • ‘You’re in the army- soon?’: Compulsory military service/ community service for men and women?
  • ‘Never again!’: Did Germany learn its lessons from its past? (“Vergangenheitsbewältigung”)
  • Social issues (housing shortage, high cost of living…)
  • „Gemeinsam einsam“/ ‘lonely together’: Does Germany need a Ministry of Loneliness?; fragmentation /cohesion of German society
• Foreign Politics/ Security Policy
  • Germany’s role as a champion of multilateralism in a highly competitive and fragmented world
  • Transatlantic Relations: from ‘German-US Friendship’ to US trade war?
  • Germany: pillar of stability within the EU?
  • ‘Good Neighborhood’?: German-French relations
  • Germany’s (first) National Security Strategy

! Course open to all faculties & international students. The course complements AWP „World Politics at a Crossroads”. Both courses can be taken during one term !

After completion of this course students will

• have an appropriate knowledge of the German political system, its institutions, actors and the current political landscape
• be able to name & explain the main political and economic challenges of contemporary Germany
• will be able to contextualize on a sound basis media news about Germany and its role in European and global politics
• be well acquainted with current debates in German society
• be able to deal with controversial topics & opinions and to identify media or personal bias
• be encouraged to train their skills for media literacy: by having a critical & analytical glance at the media preparation of political issues, finding fact-based sources and verifying information

Literature: Publications, articles and blogs (think tanks, scientific journals, newspapers) & videos. Some material will be made available in Moodle, but Moodle will NOT cover the full content of the course!

Präsenszeit: 26-30 UE
Selbststudium: 50 UE

Gesamtaufwand: 74 UE

1 UE (Unterrichtseinheit) = 45 Minuten