Politics, the Transatlantic Relationship and Fathers' Rights

Rachel Casey - Blog Entry III 

                Today was our first full day in Berlin. Yesterday was a long busy day of travel so today, while filled with meetings, was a nice change of pace. It was nice to begin our day with a bus tour of Berlin. I would have liked to do a walking tour, but Berlin is far too large, plus it was nice to have a day off my feet.

We ended our tour of the city at the Akademie der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung where we had our first meeting, which was a lunch dialogue with Thomas Habicht. I enjoyed having a discussion with a journalist. Talking to politicians can be informative, but I feel like their answers can sometimes be a little broad. This is why the discussion with Habicht was refreshing. I believe journalists are after truths, instead of things which back up their own political agenda. We discussed the current political situation in Germany which included points on energy, NATO issues, issues between Berlin and Washington, the demographic problems of Germany and the problems encountered while reuniting Germany.

I enjoyed that he discussed the differences in personality between Obama and Merkel, and not just their policies. I most enjoyed his historical discussion on the reunification of Germany and the mental and political gaps that they have had to face. He pointed out that West Germany never thought of itself as something that needed to change, but only made a list of demands for those areas under former Soviet control to change. He said in the minds of many there was only a one way road for reconstruction and that that road was something that may have hindered the process.

Following this meeting we had a meeting with Parliament member Peter Beyer at the Bundestag. While waiting to enter the building we encountered a protesting man and decided to ask him about his cause. He said he was fighting for fathers’ rights in Germany and that he had two children he was only allowed to see once every two weeks. I did some research later that evening and as it turns out fathers’ rights are extremely limited in Germany. I learned that a child can only be German if the mother is German.

The meeting with Beyer was interesting and we discussed the trans-Atlantic relationship between Germany and the U.S. It seems to Beyer that there seem to be signals from Obama which point at a desire to strengthen U.S. and German ties. After the meeting we got to visit the Kuppel which gave us a panoramic view of the city of Berlin. We finished the day with dinner at Lindenbrau which was kindly paid for by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung foundation.

NATO's New Role As A Global Actor

by Rachel Casey - Blog Entry II 

Today was quite a busy day following a long and relaxing day in Paris. The day was filled with meetings including one at NATO Shape, one with the European People’s Party and finally dinner and a lecture with Dr. Stefan Gehrold, the Head of the European Office at Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. The first lecture at NATO SHAPE was given by Colonel N.H. Johansen, who provided a general overview of NATO’s structure, its purpose, and some of its current missions. It was a good background that prepared us for our next speaker Major Ed Hardy. MAJ Hardy provided us with information on exactly what is done at SHAPE. At Shape they determine minimum capability requirements, which include both quantitative and qualitative lists along with priority shortfalls. They play an integral role in NATO’s Defense Planning Process. While I was too nervous to ask a question to MAJ Hardy during the meeting, I did get a chance to talk with him during lunch. I was interested in the measures that were being taken by NATO to prepare for potential cyber terrorism. It seems that NATO sees this as something important, but they are struggling with adding it into their policy but that they have set it up, and that it is something that should come up at the Chicago Summit, and as it turns out it did. There was also a later round table discussion that focused on NATO’s shift towards smart defense and a decrease on U.S. reliance. This too was discussed at the summit. I like that NATO is trying to get more members to contribute more capabilities so that the U.S. can stop bearing the majority of the burden. At the EPP we discussed multiple topics but I was most interested in the party’s perspective on the EURO crisis. We heard about the implications of a return to national currencies. Germany would end up suffering because the value of their currency would be so high that no one would be able to trade with them and southern countries such as Greece, would suffer massive inflation. Even if they wanted out, at this point pulling out would be devastating to all sides. We ended the evening with dinner and a lecture from Dr. Stefan Gehrold, who discussed the origins and the purpose of the foundation, which was initially to train Germany in democracy after the failure of it to take hold during the Weimar Republic. The foundation now has foreign offices open in over 100 countries which support about 200 programs, which help educate people around the world on the process of democracy.