United States

For those who have held the U.S. as the bastion of all things good and right, this may be a wake-up call.

Contrary to all forecasts, Donald Trump was declared the winner of the US presidential elections in the early hours of November 9, 2016. This marks a turning point for the United States, for open liberal societies and democracies in general. What happened, and what happens next?

The victory of Donald Trump and the way his election campaign was conducted will have multiple effects on politics in the EU, sleepless nights are already one of them.

Hillary Clinton should be warned by the British referendum: Similar to the Brexit movement, Trump’s campaign benefits from anti-immigrant sentiment and anger over the “political elites” and “mainstream media”.

We cannot quarantine ourselves from the instability that reigns south and east of Europe. Europe must strike a new balance between idealistic foreign policy and realism. The opening address of the 17th Annual Foreign Policy Conference. 

In the US presidential primaries, foreign policy issues have yet to play much of a role – but this may soon change.

Syria and the fight against ISIS is the dominating foreign policy topic in the current U.S. presidential debates. The discourse on no-fly zones and efforts to topple Bashar al-Assad show that divisions run deep and beyond party lines. 

Engulfed in an environmental scandal about lead-contaminated drinking water, the city of Flint, Michigan, has come to epitomize the decrepit state of America’s infrastructure, environmental racism, and mismanagement at the hands of public authorities.

Without active U.S. participation in the global energy transformation, reaching the goals agreed upon in Paris will be almost impossible. If nothing else will convince the majority in the U.S. Congress, then the China factor should.

After the United States and the European Union have lifted economic sanctions on Iran, the country can expect major economic rewards and greater interaction with the international community. This is a success for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, under whose leadership Iran complied with its obligations under the international agreement to restrict its nuclear program.

The US coal industry is losing market share to gas and renewables. The nation’s dirtiest fuel is giving way to cleaner alternatives. A chapter from the Coal Atlas.

Prominent voices, such as former White House Coordinator for the Middle East Phil Gordon, have advocated for striving for a negotiated interim solution in Syria that defers the question of Assad’s fate. Bente Scheller, director of our office in Lebanon, addresses some of the underlying myths and arguments shaping the current debate.  

Turkey is undergoing a period of turmoil. An interview with Kristian Brakel, office director of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Turkey, about the recently announced snap elections, chances for reviving the peace process with the Kurdish PKK, and U.S.-Turkish cooperation in fighting the Islamic State.

In the aftermath of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action a heated debate has erupted in the United States. Our interview with Barbara Slavin sheds light on the pros and cons of the nuclear agreement.

Last week, negotiators attempted a final push for a nuclear agreement with Iran. While points of disagreement remained, both sides haven’t walked away from the negotiations. But what happens once both sides agree to a deal?

Entrepreneurial spirit will play an important role in driving energy transitions around the world. Cem Özdemir travelled to San Francisco to witness how innovative solutions are driving low-carbon development in the Bay Area.

Germany’s energy transition has created a global market for renewable energies. This is now enabling other countries to follow suit, in particular the United States.

Newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in September to make his first official visit to the United States. On January 26, US President Barack Obama will visit India.

The Hungarian tax authority scandal is complicated and mysterious. One thing is clear, however: Fidesz came into conflict with the Obama administration – which took more effective action than the European Union against a corrupt and Russia-oriented government.

India's prime minister Modi tries to develop relations with important countries: In Japan, he marketed India as a ‘low cost manufacturing hub’ and tries to inject new life to U.S.-India relations.