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Curated by Project Syndicate

Germany's Troubling Election

6 commentaries

The success of the far right and the end of Germany’s grand coalition government have introduced new uncertainties into the politics of Europe’s most powerful country. What are the main implications for Germany, the EU, and global affairs?

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  1. The Chimera of Franco-German Reform
    Jean-Claude Juncker delivers his State of the Union speech at the European Parliament Patrick Herzog/Getty Images

    The Chimera of Franco-German Reform

    Oct 4, 2017 Hans-Helmut Kotz warns the European Union's would-be reformers not to count on the support of Germany's next government.

  2. A Test for Europe’s German Anchor
    Angela Merkel takes her place on the government bench Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    A Test for Europe’s German Anchor

    Sep 26, 2017 Daniela Schwarzer notes that while the center held in Germany's federal election, the policy consensus is weakening.

  3. Europe’s Battle on Four Fronts
    Britain Brexit protest Justin Tallis/Getty Images

    Europe’s Battle on Four Fronts

    Sep 26, 2017 Anatole Kaletsky believes that the EU's survival requires simultaneous breakthroughs in Berlin, Brussels, London, and Paris.

  4. Germany’s Grave New World
    Angela Merkel Odd Andersen/Getty Images

    Germany’s Grave New World

    Sep 26, 2017 Joschka Fischer says the fate of Europe's most stable democracy and largest economy now hangs in the balance.

  5. Germany’s Weimar Ghosts
    A protestor holds a banner translating 'AFD Is Not An Alternative' Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

    Germany’s Weimar Ghosts

    Sep 25, 2017 Harold James argues that a stable European order may be the Federal Republic's strongest democratic bulwark in the coming years.

  6. Germany’s Economic Road Ahead
    A voter casts his ballot in early voting in German federal elections Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    Germany’s Economic Road Ahead

    Sep 25, 2017 Clemens Fuest highlights five major policy challenges that the new government will face in the coming years.

Our Pick

Featured

  1. gros189_Sean GallupGetty Images_germanypowerlines Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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    The Improving Economics and Worsening Geopolitics of Clean Energy

    Daniel Gros warns that political obstacles are preventing the widespread uptake of low-cost green technologies.
  2. rajan94_Arvind YadavHindustan Times via Getty Images_indiasemiconductor Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
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    Industrial Policy’s Deceptive New Clothes

    Raghuram G. Rajan

    If the new "industrial strategy" is offering ideas for better public governance, it is useful. But it becomes positively dangerous when it turns to the private sector, where state interventions inevitably undermine competition, disrupt price signals, and dampen the motivation to innovate.

     sees little reason to support the case for renewed government interventions in the private sector.
  3. frankel128_ plus49Construction PhotographyAvalonGetty Images_emissions plus49Construction PhotographyAvalonGetty Images
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    A New Trilemma Haunts the World Economy

    Dani Rodrik

    It may be impossible simultaneously to combat climate change, boost the middle class in advanced economies, and reduce global poverty. Under current policy trajectories, any combination of two goals appears to come at the expense of the third.

     weighs the trade-offs between combating climate change, global poverty, and rich countries’ middle-class decline.
  4. hamada66_ Mario TamaGetty Images Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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    The Choice Confronting American Voters

    Koichi Hamada warns that electing a president who refuses to accept defeat could jeopardize not only US democracy.
  5. galbraith33 Getty Images
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    Economic Theory for the Real World

    James K. Galbraith

    Although policies based on mainstream neoclassical economics, famously enshrined in the Washington Consensus, have clearly failed, economic theory has remained in a state of paralyzed confusion. What has been missing is a full shift to modern modes of thought informed by contemporary science.

     offers a new conceptual framework based on twenty-first-century science and simple observation.
  6. bremmer32GettyImages-1233025699_AW Getty Images
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    Climate Security and Geopolitics

    Ian Bremmer

    Although multilateral efforts to address climate change are not well served by deepening geopolitical rivalries or the apparent trend toward global economic fragmentation, that doesn’t mean governments have abandoned the pursuit of net-zero emissions. Instead, the process has become more competitive – and more complex.

     considers the international political dynamics of current energy, trade, and environmental policies.
  7. stiglitz338 GettyImages-2162462221_AW Getty Images
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    The Climate Stakes of the US Election

    Joseph E. Stiglitz explains what another Donald Trump presidency would mean for the country’s economic and energy security.
  8. zzliu1 GettyImages-1676998102_AW Getty Images
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    China’s Climate Balancing Act

    Zongyuan Zoe Liu explains how decarbonization and climate security have been integrated into the government’s broader agenda.
  9. kkim1 GettyImages-2150288321_AW Getty Images
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    The Climate-Conflict Nexus

    Kyungmee Kim shows how wars and geopolitical tensions are hindering progress on climate-change mitigation and adaptation.

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