FEATURED COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

The Putin exodus: The new Russian brain drain

New Atlanticist May 6, 2025

Is Merz’s double-take chancellor vote a sign of things to come in Germany?

By Jörn Fleck and Jurek Wille

It took two rounds of voting in the Bundestag to elect Friedrich Merz chancellor, a sign of division unprecedented in modern German history.
Defense Policy Elections
The Putin exodus: The new Russian brain drain

New Atlanticist Feb 19, 2025

Germany’s economy has gone from engine to anchor. Here’s what the next chancellor faces.

By Piotr Arak

Revitalizing growth in Germany’s economy, which appears increasingly mired in stagnation, will demand urgent action from the next chancellor.
Economy & Business Elections
The Putin exodus: The new Russian brain drain

New Atlanticist Feb 4, 2025

The next German chancellor must lead from the front, not the middle, on European security

By Rachel Rizzo, James Batchik

From support for Ukraine to defense spending, German leaders would be wise to take the phrase Führung aus der Mitte permanently out of their vocabulary.
Elections Germany

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Germany’s digital minister on Europe’s digital competitiveness
Digital Policy Economy & Business Germany
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What to expect from Germany’s next government
Elections Europe & Eurasia European Union Germany

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Content

Report

Feb 21, 2019

The Putin exodus: The new Russian brain drain

By John E. Herbst, Sergei Erofeev

Human capital is fleeing Russia. Since President Vladimir Putin’s ascent to the presidency, between 1.6 and 2 million Russians – out of a total population of 145 million – have left for Western democracies.

Corruption Germany

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2019

Can Germany stay the course on defense spending?

By Brooks Tigner

Germany has long been an underspender when it comes to meeting NATO’s defense budget guideline of 2 percent of GDP for each of its allies, but that is now changing.

Germany NATO

In the News

Feb 8, 2019

Binnendijk in Defense News: German F-35 Decision Sacrifices NATO Capability for Franco-German Industrial Cooperation

By Hans Binnendijk

Read the full article here

Germany NATO

UkraineAlert

Jan 25, 2019

Ukraine’s Slow but Steady Strangulation Is Taking Place in Plain Sight

By Peter Dickinson

Russia’s war against Ukraine is about to enter its sixth year, but many remain in denial over the true nature of the conflict. There is still widespread international reluctance to acknowledge the global significance of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, leading to a preference for the kind of euphemistic language that blurs the lines between victim and […]

Germany Russia

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2019

The new treaty of Aachen: More than just a symbol?

By Nicholas Dungan

The treaty sends a signal that France and Germany are serious about the preservation of the European ideal, pooling of sovereignty, and the postwar international order.

France Germany
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, January 14, 2015

NATOSource

Jan 22, 2019

German Defense Minister: The World Still Needs NATO

By Ursula von der Leyen, New York Times

The alliance is not just about bases and troops. It is about defending the world order.

Germany NATO
President Donald Trump at the NATO Summit in Brussels, July 12, 2018.

NATOSource

Jan 9, 2019

President Trump: ‘I Want Europe to Pay’

By Donald Trump, White House

[Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan] is working so hard on the military. We have a — we were taken advantage of by so many countries on our military.

Afghanistan Germany

New Atlanticist

Jan 4, 2019

Angela Merkel’s data leaked

By David A. Wemer

The targeted leaks “[look] like a clear attempt to disrupt German politics,” said Ben Nimmo, an information defense fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab).

Cybersecurity Germany

New Atlanticist

Dec 13, 2018

Opposition to Nord Stream 2 gathers steam on both sides of the Atlantic

By Agnia Grigas

Although largely symbolic gestures, these actions signal growing bipartisan opposition in Washington and a hardening of Brussels’ stance toward Nord Stream 2.

European Union Eurozone
German Chancellor Angela Merkel

New Atlanticist

Oct 31, 2018

Merkel’s greatest legacy May be her unerring sense of style

By Thomas Klau

Can Germany’s leader for thirteen years last in the chancellery for another three? At this stage it is more than doubtful. Merkel herself left the door discreetly open to an earlier exit.

Elections Germany
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Jörn Fleck

Senior Director

Europe Center Transform Europe Initiative

Digital Policy Economy & Business

Fellow

Jacob Heilbrunn

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Eurasia Center

Media Europe & Eurasia

Staff

Stuart Jones

Program Assistant

Europe Center

Europe & Eurasia European Union

Fellow

James Kirchick

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Europe Center

Central Europe Conflict

Staff

Jacopo Pastorelli

Program Assistant

Europe Center

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

Fellow

Rachel Rizzo

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Europe Center Transform Europe Initiative

Economy & Business English
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