Episode 4  From Anti-War Activism to Climate Justice: What’s Driving the Left in Germany and the United States?

The fourth episode of our series Foreign Correspondent Unplugged examines the role of activism in Germany and the United States. American political scientist Sheri Berman and German journalist Lukas Hermsmeier will discuss progressive movements, ideas, and alliances in both countries. Dr. Steven E. Sokol, the President and CEO of the American Council on Germany, moderates the conversation. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A growing number of Americans and Germans have been engaging in civil action in recent years. They have come out to demand radical social and economic changes. What do their strategies look like? What is the role of civil society? And how do the two countries differ when it comes to the left at large?
 

Speakers

Sheri Berman is a professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University. Her research interests include European history and politics; the development of democracy; populism and fascism; and the history of the left. She has written about these topics for a wide variety of scholarly and non-scholarly publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and VOX. She currently serves on the boards of the Journal of Democracy, Dissent, and Political Science Quarterly. Her most recent book, Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe: From the Ancien Régime to the Present Day, was published by Oxford University Press in 2019.

Lukas Hermsmeier is an independent journalist from Berlin based in New York and writes on politics and culture — with a special focus on social and labor movements — for publications such as Die Zeit, Die Wochenzeitung, and The New York Times. His first book, Uprising – Amerikas neue Linke (Klett-Cotta, 2022), is about the resurgence of the left in the United States since Occupy Wall Street. His most recent opinion piece in The New York Times can be found here.

Dr. Steven E. Sokol (moderator) is the President and CEO of the American Council on Germany (ACG). 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 ACG. Educated in Germany and the United States, he has spent more than 20 years working for non-profit organizations in both countries. Dr. Sokol is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on several advisory boards. He was awarded a Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit) for his work to strengthen German-American relations.