While many older Americans and Germans have memories of World War II and the Marshall Plan which helped turn the two countries into allies and partners, the value of transatlantic relations is not as obvious to younger generations any longer.
In view of the shifts on the world stage but also of Donald J. Trump’s US presidency and Europe’s domestic populist movements, the partnership between Germany and the US needs to find a new foundation on which to stand on. Europeans have come to increasingly recognize that they need to assume more responsibility in order to uphold the liberal order.
1. Explain the Benefits of Liberal Democracy
In both the US and Germany, and Europe more broadly, the rise of populist parties threatens to undermine the system of democracy at the same time that outside actors seek to discredit it. Both the US and Europe need to undertake efforts to more clearly articulate the benefits and the functioning of democracy. This has to go hand in hand with a reminder of not only the privileges of democracy but the responsibilities as well. As President Obama said in his farewell speech, these truths may be self-evident, but the freedoms that come with it are not self-sustaining. For example, political education is a fundamental instrument in order to prepare young people for the social and technological changes that the transatlantic relations face in this globalized and increasingly digitalized world.
2. Stronger Together: Champion Transatlantic Institutions and the “Common Set of Values”
The US created and Germany strongly supported postwar institutions, which the new US administration could abandon. This alliance system is already under strain and in need of strong support to reform and revamp moving forward. As Merkel said following the Trump election, US-Germany cooperation had to be based on “a common platform of democracy, freedom, advocacy for human rights all over the world and championing the open and liberal world order.” All of which is not going to sustain itself without German-US cooperation and support.
For the liberal order to sustain, it is moreover imperative that the partners reaffirm and live by their commitment to multilateralism and a global rule of law. With regard to conflicts big (e.g., Russia, Syria) and small (e.g., disputes over trade), appeals to norms of international law and red lines are only credible as long as the partners remain themselves firmly committed. A vision of a liberal world order with a common set of values and inalienable rights, however remote it may seem today, may only be realized by the transatlantic alliance leading by example.
3. Deepen Transatlantic Cooperation in Education Policy
In addition to funding exchange programs, the transatlantic partners should aim to establish an institutionalized cooperation in the area of education policy. Both countries are known for quality education and highly skilled workforces, and improving the education systems is in both countries’ interests. In the digital age, and at a time when labor is more fluid than ever, Germany and the US could exchange best practices in the education space to facilitate progress in both countries. In particular, Germany is well-known for its vocational education programs, which is of increasing interest in the US following an election where the plight of the blue-collar workforce and the cost of higher education were key issues. Meanwhile, the US is known for the high quality (and high cost) of its education and its success in the digital economy. Both countries could work together to improve their systems and draw on one another’s strengths to create an education system that better prepares people to participate in the economy of the 21st century.
4. Reinvigorate Democratic Debate: Media from “the Other Side”
Most people receive their news from social media connecting them to various newspapers with various opinions. Yet, what they see in their ‘feed’ is filtered by social media to their preferences. Hence, they are rarely confronted with opposite opinions online, let alone foreign opinions since they cannot understand the language.
Therefore, social media aggregators and similar websites should be enforced to offer links to articles with opposite opinions to create a bilateral view. Thereby, rather than entrusting fact-checking to private institutions readers are given the opportunity to make their own picture of a specific news story.
Regarding transatlantic topics, ‘translating/interpreting institutions’ would need to be created with the sole purpose of translating articles from established news networks from the other side, which somehow affect domestic policy. This could benefit not only the transatlantic relationship, but also relationships to other countries (e.g. Russia) if their news is also included in these institutions.
Aylin Matlé is working towards her PhD on the role of the US in NATO during the Obama presidency.
Michael Blank is a PhD in law candidate at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and works for a law firm in Berlin.
Haven Hightower is an Advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia on European Policy & European Parliament.
John-Markus Maddaloni is a 22 year old Italian-American studying German law at the Universität des Saarlandes in Germany.
Lutz-Peter Hennies is a former Fulbright student in New York City with an academic background in philosophy and economics and work experience in management consulting.
Ellen Scholl works on the intersection of energy and foreign policy at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), and is a former Robert Bosch Fellow.
Nora Schröder is a PhD candidate currently working at the department of peace and conflict studies at the University of Augsburg. Her research interests include the construction of political identity on a supranational level, especially through European political participation and active European citizenship.
Very good article. On the education topic we should make sure that we do not mix it with the memo on education.
On point 4 “Most people receive their news from social media”. Do you have any numbers? I doubt that the majority receives news from social media. Television is still strong and people know news websites.
Hi Manuel!
Referring to the numbers: The following link shows the results of a survey by the Pew Research Center from last year, claiming 62 % get news from social media.
http://www.journalism.org/2016/05/26/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016/
Team “Big Picture”,
It was a pleasure to read your article and I agree with your recommendations.
My only suggestion would be to make your recommendations even more actionable:
1) Explain benefits: How can this be done? Should the EU/German government increase their PR budget? Is it a call for the media?
2) Champion Transatlantic Institutions: Which institutions do you have in mind? This could be a nice link to the call for strengthening NATO we make in the Defense memo.
3) Deepen cooperation: Are you suggesting new exchange programs (beyond high school and college students) targeted at the groups you mention?
Looking forward to discussing in person soon!
Lorenz
Hi Team, great four points! I also really appreciate the headline “A New Narrative for the Transatlantic Relationship in the 21st century”, which is exactly what we need I believe.
Some suggestions: First of all I would get rid of the ‘explain’ language in the first proposal, which in my opinion appears arrogant and obscures the essence of a democratic process by implying that those in power are the ones to enlighten the citizenry, as if the governments of the last 30 years had not contributed to the current backlash with their policies.
Jumping off the comment by Lorenz, I want to share a passage on common values and transatlantic future by Javier Solana and Strobe Talbott I found inspiring: “The victors of World War II determined not to repeat the mistakes of their predecessors. They found in the history of Western civilization the precepts for a community of nations buttressed not only by shared values, interests and institutions, but also by the world’s most powerful military alliance. They had much to draw on: Pericles’ ideal polity (“not the few but the many govern”), the Hanseatic League (a trade and defense pact in the Middle Ages), the Age of Reason, Adam Smith’s advocacy of open markets and the division of labor to enhance the wealth of nations, and Immanuel Kant’s conviction that “perpetual peace” depended on democratic nations’ conducting vigorous commerce.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/opinion/the-decline-of-the-west-and-how-to-stop-it.html?_r=0)
They conclude: “For globalization to be politically sustainable, it must be more economically equitable. (…) Restoring social progress on this scale will succeed only if it has buy-in from all segments of society. But the innovation and direction must come from the top.” I strongly believe that « economically equitable globalization » should be our top demand for political leadership.
The elephant in the room is the Trump administration. Does it endorse any of these values? Pro: this is an anti-establishment conception of making globalization work for those left behind; Contra: self-proclaimed ‘economic nationalist’. Perhaps we should tackle this question in more detail. To what extent is our Atlantic Memo compatible with the new U.S. government?
On the fourth point, my dream would be a society-wide debate on the true meaning of democracy and constitutionalism, leading to shared democratic ideals as opposed to procedural conceptions of ‘winning elections’. We should work to equip people with the intellectual capacity and practical knowledge to expose false equivalencies in news and politics, while being aware of the reasons why different perceptions exist. In the process of such a debate, some shortcomings of our democracies will become abundantly clear: socioeconomic disparities causing unequal educational and professional opportunities and the disturbing effects of financial inequality on the fragmentation of social life and even the values underpinning our constitutional regimes.
Hi all,
I loved reading your article!
Especially the last section on “Media from the other side” was inspiring. I think you really hit a nerve there. Recently, we encountered a highly emotional debate on both sides of the Atlantic about fake news, echo chambers/filter bubbles and voter targeting. I think what has been missing, however, is the trust in the individual to develop his own opinion. Of course my news feed is personalized but if I wasn’t checking my news feed, I would be reading my favorite newspaper which has a political tendency as well.
I find your suggestions to broaden everyone’s view extremely helpful for an informed debate and democratic culture.
As you realized I find this point most interesting in the draft memo and therefore would suggest to give it a more prominent spot in the memo (not “only” point 4). Plus, I think a more elaborate debate on your suggestions is really important because with regard to this topic we are manoeuvring on such thin line of “imposed diversified” news and inhibiting free speech. (The Education and Media Group does not seem to address this issue in their draft memo so I think there would be no overlap)
Again, thanks for the memo and including point number four!
Big Picture Group:
I agree with pretty much all that you have said. Regarding your first point however, I would be curious as to how you could explain the benefits of liberal democracy in the context of both the Trump administration, as well as a Europe that is beginning to be more inward-facing and nationalistic. Specifically, what would you wrote or say to somebody who points out the many flaws in the Trump administration and says that this backlash is proof that liberal democracy doesn’t work?
Thanks for the good ideas!
Great job, team! If I am understanding correctly, recommendation 1 suggests “political education” during primary and secondary school. I think a brief description of what is meant by “political education” would be helpful. Currently, I’m left wondering if this would be a class on liberal democracy (due to the title of the section), on political systems in general, on transatlantic relations or a civics course focusing on citizen responsibilities.
Great Job! I would suggest to dig a bit deeper on #4 in thinking how (social) media between the two regions can become more integrated. Originally the growth of social media was supposed to make people more aware of global events and causes, I’m not sure if this has been happening. I wouldn’t support “enforcing” social media companies to offer certain balanced views, but instead promoting Facebook, Google and others to have more international links, stories and opportunities on their pages.
Good job, everyone. I would just push back on one aspect of the first proposal. I think that perceived attacks on the rule of law, here in the US, were a primary cause of popular unrest during the last eight years. The last administration’s heavy use of executive power and circumventing of the legislative process through regulation and rule making (many of which the courts struck down as unlawful), is a problem no matter who is in office. That said, the general approach towards promoting a deeper understanding of the rule of law, the proper function of various branches of government, etc, could be really helpful. I would just suggest that this goes both ways. If past abuses are, indeed, a contributing factor to popular unrest, we should continue to be critical of those over reaching actions from the new administration.
I believe as the ‘Big Picture’ working group we should find adequate words for the challenges the new U.S. President poses to transatlantic relations and the international order more broadly. For example, a US government that through actions, formal or informal, seeks the destruction of the EU must have breached a very clear red line for anyone with knowledge of European history and the actual functioning of the organization.
Perhaps this recent NYT Article can help spark the discussion (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/world/europe/trump-european-union.html?ref=world&_r=0). I quote some lines below. What is your overall impression? Do you share the expressed sentiments?
“Against this forbidding backdrop, some European leaders are urging their counterparts to recognize that Mr. Trump may represent a truly dire challenge, one that threatens to upend not only the 70-year European project of integration and security, but just about everything they stand for, including liberal democracy itself.
A European official, Donald Tusk, created a stir this week when he wrote a letter to 27 leaders of the bloc’s 28 member states suggesting that the Trump administration presented a threat on a par with a newly assertive China, an aggressive Russia and “wars, terror and anarchy in the Middle East and Africa.” Worse, he said: “Europeans see Trump as the biggest threat to global order and the European ideal of how the world should be organized.”
“Trump is the first American president since the E.U. was created not to be in favor of deeper European integration,” Mr. Leonard said. “Not only that, but he’s against it and sees the destruction of the European Union as in America’s interest.”
This is a great recommendation and I couldn’t agree more with its premise. While I agree that upholding democratic freedom is of the utmost importance, to what extent do you believe that citizens in the US and Europe (particularly Germany) hold leaders such as Obama and Merkel responsible for the economic hardships that they’ve been encountering over the recent past? How could this be mitigated? Not really feedback so much as something to think about if the policies of these two leaders are to used as a platform to further strengthen liberal democracy.
I think these are some good suggestions for bringing together the points mentioned in the other memos. At the same time, as has been pointed out above, the challenge here will be how to present these ideas without encroaching too much on the other memos and becoming repetitive. To that point, I think one way to steer this would be to emphasize the first two points. In a post Cold War World, the benefits that institutions such as NATO or the EU bring are no longer as concrete for the current generation. As others have put it, the Soviet threat and the real need to rebuild after World War II created an environment where Americans were ready to take a very strong leadership role in the defense of Europe while Europe rebuilt. Many Americans no longer see this investment as worthwhile. The realities of automatisation and globalization mean that any sort of “America First” approach geared to bring back outsourced industries through protectionist policies will only harm the world economy. Nevertheless, Americans will need a new vision to foster a cultural commitment to Europe. Its not so much that voters don’t necessarily value “liberal democracy” but rather that their goals for this democracy are shifting. Similar arguments can be made for populist movements across Europe.
With regard to point 4, as others have commented, it would be very difficult for Facebook or other media to enforce the consumption of “quality” news. I also worry about the suggestions of a false equivalency between different “sides” of an argument. Its not that people are not aware that CNN exits, its that CNN doesn’t confirm their world view so they choose not to read it. Far left or far right news sources do this and are appealing because they present a straightforward confirmation of a given viewpoint.
Good memo! A few comments:
– Much like the others, I’m unclear on what sort of political education you all are recommending? Also, I think it would be to your benefit to clearly explain how you will engage students from the transatlantic perspective. A download of information on civic participation and various institutions on both sides doesn’t demonstrate how we can get students to engage, participate, and become active in political discourse.
– I’m unclear as to what the recommendation is for point 2 “Championing Institutions.” What specific institutions need to be championed? Do new institutions need to be created? I understand the call to arms, so speak, on affirming commitment to common values, etc. However, the US has a president that is on record as anti-multilateralism, nor particularly committed to interests of a transatlantic relationship where they are not aligned to the interests of the US. How should the other side of the Atlantic respond? My suggestion would be to look at ways to strengthen the relationship through institutions outside that of the executive. Expanding ties between legislative bodies, think tanks, judiciaries, community clubs, etc. That’s where the big picture lies and where the transatlantic relationship truly needs a champion.
– On point 4, I think a good place to start would be looking at the Broadcasting Board of Governors as a model for projecting media across borders and making such information available in target market languages. Voice of America is a great example, as is Radio Free Europe. Funding needs to be expanded to bring broadcasters from the “other side” to American homes. Right now, this a pull exercise by savvy and engaged citizens, those who go seeking the latest from the BBC, Al Jazeera, and others. It needs to more of a digital push.