Germany seems like Europe's lone island of fiscal stability, but trouble lurks under its impressive export-fueled growth.

China is hardly the first great power to make authoritarian development look attractive. As Jonathan Steinberg's new biography of Bismarck shows, Wilhelmine Germany did it with ease.

Obama's former auto czar explains the key to Germany's export boom -- and how the United States can emulate it.

Germany's recent debate regarding immigration is missing an important reality.

Germany is a bridge between Russia and the West, and how Berlin chooses to deal with Moscow will set the tone for how the United States and the rest of Europe manage their own relationships with Russia.

With financial firestorms erupting left and right in Europe, the global credit crisis takes a new dimension. Analysts say it might be time for coordinated interest rate cuts.

Labor disputes threaten to undermine a decades-long effort to make the Deutsche Bahn, Europe’s largest railroad, more efficient and less dependent on the state.

In a policy shift, Germany pledges to act on security issues in a way more commensurate with its economic, diplomatic, and cultural heft. For a nation that has felt the need to tiptoe in the world, the shift raises more doubt than hackles.

It seems a long time since talks between a U.S. president and a German chancellor could produce anything approaching a meeting of the minds. That may not happen yet, but experts believe there is promise in Angela Merkel's meeting with President Bush.

Yanzhong Huang says countries need to work together to deal with food safety challenges in the era of globalization.

Leslie H. Gelb says Germany's economy can teach President Obama about how a nation can succeed with jobs and exports despite high taxes and welfare.

Jonathan Steinberg, professor of Modern European History at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses his book, Bismark: A Life.

This meeting is part of a series hosted with the National History Center featuring prominent historians who will examine the events and times that shaped foreign policy as we know it today.

Listen to Joschka Fischer, former foreign minister and vice chancellor of Germany, reflect on his career as part of the Council's HBO History Makers Series.

Italy's budget may matter more than ineffectual Franco-German summitry, but the new agreement between France and Germany on reforming EU rules remains a reckless distraction, says CFR's Sebastian Mallaby.

As European leaders gather to discuss eurozone reforms, German labor union expert Mehrdad Payandeh discusses the benefits of more European integration, but warns austerity policies could tip Germany and the continent back into recession.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces dwindling support because of "dithering" on the euro crisis and Germans' opposition to having troops in Afghanistan, says Germany expert William Drozdiak.

The right-of-center Free Democrats are big winners in Germany's elections and, in coalition with Christian Democrats, will likely support pro-U.S. policies on Afghanistan and Iran, says expert William M. Drozdiak.