Thomas Jefferson based his hope for the new American Republic on “the common sense and good judgment of the American people.” This faith had its roots in the ancient republican principles of civic duty and citizen participation. From ancient Athens forward, both duty and participation were considered necessary to guarantee that the republic, every republic, […]

Midway through September, Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign ran into some turbulence. Captured on a clandestine camera, Romney was found to have disparaged the alleged entitlement mentality of the 47 percent of Americans who pay no income tax. But even as Romney’s liberal critics rejoiced in his embarrassment, they seemed strangely unapologetic about their own brand […]

We’re Not Broke, a new award-winning documentary, may convince viewers that the American tax-collection system is even more compromised than they thought. The title may elicit objections from deficit hawks, but the film shows that Uncle Sam has enormous assets in addition to its towering debts; the U.S. Treasury just isn’t taking in nearly as […]

In Germany, 91 percent of the electorate would have voted for Obama. This comes close to the “Enver Hoxha Standard”, the 98 percent regularly won by Albania’s eternal dictator in the Soviet days. Barack Obama’s harvest in Germany is the mother of all landslides, rendered even more awesome by the miniscule 4 percent Mitt Romney […]

Germany’s role in the ongoing Euro crisis is a reminder of its economic superpower status in Europe. But Germany plays another leading role: defining European policy toward Russia. Brussels and other European capitals often follow Germany’s lead when it comes to dealing with Russia. And with the United States distracted with its recent election and […]

We’re Not Broke is launches outrage at the multinational corporations that engage in offshore banking and other tax avoidance strategies. At a time of strained state and Federal budgets, it is not a stretch to assume that lost tax revenue is at least partially to blame for mounting deficits. However, the argument that offshore corporate […]

Barack Obama’s sweeping triumph in the presidential elections, including in critical battleground states, prompted a sigh of relief in numerous quarters and most capitals of Europe, where Obama, despite his emphatic orientation away from Europe, is seen as representing more closely the ethos and Weltanschauung of the old continent.In his victory speech, which described the […]

The question posed by my title doesn’t quite hit the mark. Just as one cannot really speak of a single “America”, there is no one “Russia” anymore but rather several Russias. But while each different Russia has its own interests, attitudes and moods, there is something that unites them all with respect to America: The […]

No one who pays even casual attention to Ukraine’s politics should be surprised to learn that President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions (PR), whose bastions lie in the country’s Russophone south and east, emerged with a plurality in October’s parliamentary elections. With top opposition candidates (most notably former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko) in jail, and […]

Dear readers,Professor Berger was stranded by Hurricane Sandy in Germany and therefore did not have the opportunity to write an essay this week. He is on his way back to the United States now, and will resume writing again next week.–– DM