Democracy under Pressure

Democracy in both Germany and the United States faces mounting challenges, from rising political polarization to declining trust in institutions and practices.

Vladimir Balzer , Dr. Steven E. Sokol , Dr. Melanie Amann

The latest installment in the Foreign Correspondent Uplugged series explored how these pressures are-reshaping politics and public life on both sides of the Atlantic. The timely discussion featured award-winning journalists Vladimir Balzer (Deutschlandradio) and Dr. Melanie Amann (Der Spiegel) who examined political trends in Germany and challenges to democracy 35 years after German unity.

The event was moderated by the President of the American Council on Germany, Dr. Steven E. Sokol.

Listen to the podcast here on the following platforms:

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Foreign Correspondents Unplugged

The American Council on Germany and the Goethe-Institut are holding a series of events across the United States highlighting how German and American journalists see political and social developments in Germany, the United States, and internationally. Our guests will take a step back from the stories they follow day to day and address a range of topics that affect citizens in both countries. Following the events, the discussions will be released as podcasts.

Vladimir Balzer

Vladimir Balzer is an award-winning radio journalist and moderator at Deutschlandfunk. He grew up in Leipzig and studied in Dublin, Venice, and Leipzig. He began his career as a presenter, reporter, and editor at Deutschlandradio and MDR. Mr. Balzer hosts, among other programs, the daily program “Fazit – Kultur vom Tage” on Deutschlandfunk Kultur. In 2022, he was selected to be a Kellen Fellow by the American Council on Germany. In 2023 he started as a correspondent at the Capital Studios of Deutschlandfunk in Berlin. He is known as a commentator for German Television, such as ZDF. He also regularly reports for his broadcaster from the United States.

Dr. Steven E. Sokol

Steven E. Sokol has been the President and CEO of the American Council on Germany since 2015. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and prior to that he was the Vice President and Director of Programs at the American Council on Germany. Prior to this, Dr. Sokol served as the Deputy Director of the Aspen Institute Berlin, was the Head of the Project Management Department at the Bonn International Center for Conversion GmbH (BICC), and a Program Officer in the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Earlier in his career, he also was a Program Manager at the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and was a paralegal at Fulbright & Jaworski.

He holds a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University as well as an M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. He has also studied at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Freie Universität in Berlin. Dr. Sokol serves on several non-profit boards and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was awarded a Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit) for his work to strengthen German-American relations.

Dr. Melanie Amann

Dr. Melanie Amann studied Law in Trier, Aix-en-Provence and Berlin and received her doctorate from the LMU Munich. From 2003 to 2004, she spent a year at the German School of Journalism in Munich. After working as an editor at the Financial Times Deutschland, the F.A.Z. and the F.A.S., she moved to SPIEGEL in Berlin in 2013. Since February 2019, she has headed SPIEGEL's capital city bureau, together with Sebastian Fischer, Christoph Hickmann and Martin Knobbe. She has been a member of the editorial board since May 2021.

Episode 10 Democracy Under Pressure

Foreign Correspondents Unplugged