Germany's parliament votes will determine whether to extend Berlin's participation in the military mission in Afghanistan. This article reports that Afghanistan is on the brink of disaster, but German politicians have chosen to ignore Afghanistan's real problems.

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.

Joschka Fischer reflects on his career and the lessons he learned during his tenure as foreign minister and vice chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. 

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

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.

William Drozdiak, president of the independent American Council on Germany, says the White House meeting last week between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Bush indicates “they seem to have struck up a much more friendly rapport than what Bush had with her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder."

Germany’s U.S. ambassador says his country will use new leadership positions in both the European Union and the G8 to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and issues such as energy security with Russia.

This paper from the German Marshall Fund of the United States looks at the troubled tripartite relationship between Poland, France and Germany. The paper says this unstable relationship – the so-called ‘Weimar Triangle’ – has made it difficult to coordinate relations between the three countries, but notes that recent meetings have seen leaders of the three countries put contentious issues aside and concentrate on finding solutions to outstanding problems.

Triggered by recent events in Afghanistan, Germany is debating the future role of its special operations forces (SOF). Particular criticism has focused on the lack of transpar-ency regarding the deployment of the Special Operations Forces (Kommando Spezialkräfte, or KSK) and on insufficient mechanisms for political oversight over these forces. The German government wants the KSK to continue to participate in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). However, in order to prevent further domestic political backlash against the use of these forces, there needs to be a political debate about the future role of SOF in German defense and security policy as well as a revision of current practice.

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.

The long-standing German-American transatlantic partnership suffered setbacks in the wake of the Iraq War, another Middle East flashpoint. The American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at the Johns Hopkins University has released a report offering a German-American perspective on the continuous Israel-Palestine struggle in the Middle East and the link between culture and politics.

This paper from the German Marshall Fund of the United States looks at Germany’s evolving relationship with the European Union. Growing in stature and, at the same time, sacrificing some of its own interests for the European Union, Germany has guaranteed its fundamental interest: a peaceful co-existence with its neighbours. In the meantime, Germany was also the only state to possess a foreign policy outlook that was both pro-European and transatlantic. However, under the administration of Chancellor Schröder, the tone and substance of Germany's European Policy evolved in two ways. First, within Europe, the "national" or the "German" component was accentuated. Second, during the war in Iraq, Germany made a break with its traditional foreign policy when it stood by France in opposing the United States. The paper explores how this new German orientation will develop during the German presidency of the EU during the first six months of 2007.

The German Institute for International and Security Affairs has released a report that offers German perspectives on the challenge of increasing Europe's voice and its ability to react to security challenges around the globe.

Joschka Fischer, former foreign minister of Germany, reflected on issues of contingent vs. conditional sovereignty and "the responsibility to protect."

The president of the American Council on Germany sees a "definite improvement" in U.S.-German relations since Angela Merkel became chancellor five months ago. Ahead of Merkel's second visit to Washington this year, William Drozdiak says that a key issue for Merkel and President Bush is what to do about Iran's nuclear program.

Dr. Ulrike Guérot discusses Angela Merkel's surprising success in transatlantic bridge-building.

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.