After the election: What's at stake for Germany in international academic exchange?

Flags of Federal Republic of Germany waving in front of the German parliament building (Reichstag) in Berlin.

The results of the Bundestag elections on 23 February 2025 brought a new government to power in Germany, which will set its own priorities for international scientific cooperation in a challenging context. In this regard, we convened international experts in higher education to discuss the opportunities and challenges for academic cooperation following the recent Bundestag elections in Germany.

Moderated by Jan-Martin Wiarda, freelance journalist for education and science, the diverse and international panel presented a lively and insightful discussion on the expectations and hopes for the new German government.

In his opening remarks, DAAD President Joybrato Mukherjee quoted Timothy Garton Ash’s recent interview in DER SPIEGEL about the end of the “post-wall era” and emphasised that we should not make the same mistake of pining for an old order again: “Transitioning from the old to a new era, it is time for us to leave the transformation-related uncertainty behind us and re-cultivate the field of internationalization on the basis of well-informed decisions and our own strategic interests.” Against this background, he addressed four main claims:

Strengthening Germany as a location for science, innovation and business
Strengthening Germany's foreign policy significance through scientific diplomacy
Strengthening cross-border solutions for global challenges
Promoting democracy and social cohesion with the help of international academic exchange

In the following discussion, the panellists agreed on Germany's potential to play a leading role in international scientific and academic cooperation and stressed the need for increased funding and smart spending. As Eric Langenbacher noted: “The problem is, both domestically and perhaps internationally, that Germany has not been spending enough."

Furthermore, the importance of maintaining academic cooperation despite political changes was highlighted, with several panellists sharing insights from different parts of the world. They were optimistic about Germany's stability and its ability to promote global scientific and environmental agendas and attract international students and scholars, although they identified rising nationalism and populist forces as significant challenges. The growing challenge of nationalist tendencies and the need to re-engage young voters was also highlighted by Rirhandu Mageza-Barthel, who added: “Foreign policy is a reflection of domestic politics and domestic conditions. And to that extent, obviously, it's going to affect what's going to happen in terms of Germany's position in the world.”

Finally, the panellists underlined the importance of Germany's global efforts and the need for academic cooperation across regions and disciplines for a prosperous and secure future. In this context, national and international exchange programs remain vital for German and international higher education and science.

Opening

Prof. Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee has been the President of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) since 2020 and was the President of the Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) from 2009 to 2023. As of October 1, 2023, he serves as the Rector of the University of Cologne. From 2012 to 2019, the professor of English linguistics also held the position of Vice President of the DAAD. For his contributions to international cooperation between universities, he was awarded honorary doctorates from the Ion Ionescu de la Brad University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) Iasi, Romania, and the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) in Georgia.

Host

Dr. Jan-Martin Wiarda, born in 1976, is a freelance journalist and blogger specializing in education and science. From January 2013 to July 2015, he was the Head of Communications and Media and the Press Spokesman for the Helmholtz Association. From 2004 to 2012, Wiarda was an editor and ultimately the deputy head of the education department „Chancen“ at the weekly newspaper „DIE ZEIT“. He studied political science, economics, and sociology in Munich, attended the German School of Journalism there, and then moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, where he continued his journalism studies.

Panelists

Monika Sus is Professor of Political Science at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, a visiting fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advances Studies and fellow and lecturer at the Hertie School in Berlin. Her research interests lie in international relations, particularly in the study of institutional dynamics of overlapping security regimes in Europe, including questions of policy change, the role of informality in shaping policies and dynamics of European Union’s foreign, security and defence policies. Her work has been published in various academic journals such as „International Affairs“, “West European Politics”, „Journal of Common Market Studies“, „Contemporary Security Policy“, „Journal of European Integration“, „The British Journal of Politics and International Relations“, „Geopolitics“, „Global Policy“, „International Politics“ and „Futures. The journal of policy, planning and futures studies“. She is a regular commentator on various European media outlets and member of Team Europe Direct Poland.
Veronika Wittmann is Associate Professor for Global Studies at the Institute for Modern and Contemporary History at the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at the Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU), Austria. She was enrolled in the PhD Programme of the Austrian Academy of Science 2000-2001 and was a Junior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna 2000-2001 as well as a Research Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Ibero-American Studies in Hamburg 2006. Veronika Wittmann also worked at the United Nations (UNDP) in Ecuador in 2002. She conducted extensive field research on numerous visits to different parts of Africa. In 2023, she was appointed as one of the experts by the European Commission to contribute to the EU Science Diplomacy Working Groups to develop a future European framework for Science Diplomacy. Her research areas include Science Diplomacy, Sustainable Development, World Society, Global Politics, and Cultural Studies.
Prof. Rirhandu Mageza-Barthel is currently a TraCe Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Marburg’s Center for Conflict Studies. She recently served as a Professor for Peace and Development Studies at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Her research interests situate themselves on the cusp of peace, development and international studies. In this regard, she has focused on post-genocide transformations, transregional relations, and the normative underpinnings of global politics through a gender lens with numerous publications and editorships in these fields.
Dr. Eric Langenbacher is a Teaching Professor at Georgetown University and Senior Fellow and Director at the American-German Institute in Washington DC. He directed the Student Leaders Program (2004-2025) and other international programs for universities like Humboldt University and the University of Salzburg. His research in Comparative Politics focuses on political institutions, political culture, and collective memory, particularly in German and European studies. He has authored numerous publications, including „Comparative Politics: Mapping Institutions, Power, and Legitimacy“ (2025), „Shifting Paradigms in Contemporary German Politics and Policy“ (2024), and „The German Polity“ (12th edition, 2021). Langenbacher has taught and conducted research internationally and holds degrees from Carleton University (BA), the University of Toronto (MA), and Georgetown University (MA and PhD).
Nythamar H. F. de Oliveira Jr. is a philosopher and professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre. He is known for his extensive work in ethics, political philosophy and phenomenology. Born in Brazil, he has made significant contributions to discussions on democracy, social justice and human rights. His publications and academic activities reflect philosophical issues in a globalised context. He was a Georg Forster Post-Doctoral Fellow in Kassel, awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and has intensively engaged in Brazilian-German academic cooperation.

Opening

Joybrato Mukherjee, President of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Host

Jan-Martin Wiarda, Freelance Journalist for Education and Science

Panelists

Monika Sus, Associate Professor of Political Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw

Veronika Wittmann, Associate University Professor of Global Studies, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria

Rirhandu Mageza-Barthel, TraCe Visiting Research Fellow, Center for Conflict Studies, University of Marburg, Germany

Eric Langenbacher, Teaching Professor, Department of Government, Georgetown University, USA

Nythamar H. F. de Oliveira Jr., Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil