A Network of Germany Experts and Bridge Builders
Since 1984, the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program has made it possible for some 560 Americans to spend a year in Germany. During this time, the young mid-career professionals from the U.S. work in politics, the media, business, or social institutions. This gives them the experiences needed to become ambassadors for Germany when they return home. And they stay in touch: 130 former fellows recently came together in Berlin for the annual meeting of the Robert Bosch Foundation Alumni Association (RBFAA). The event’s motto: “Protecting Transatlanticism in the Rise of Isolationism.” What do the fellows have to say about the current status of transatlantic relations? And what contributions can they make? Four fellows have answered these questions.
Robert Fenstermacher
Robert Fenstermacher was a Fellow in the year 1999-2000
What was your job before you came to Germany as a Fellow?
I was working for an international exchange organization that focused on German-American affairs. I also spent a lot of time in that job focused on the dual system of apprenticeship training and looking how German practices in apprenticeship could be adapted to the U.S.
What are you doing now?
I am now the Chief Content Officer at the American Council on Germany, a non-profit/non-partisan organization based in New York.
What worries you the most regarding transatlantic relations today?
What worries me the most is the higher-level disputes that we see. They could lead to a longer-term problem between the two countries. What we see in the media all the time is the dispute. The more you see that, the more it starts to trickle down into peoples’ daily perceptions of the other country.
I think the second aspect is the next generation of transatlanticists. We have an incredibly strong relationship that has been going on between Europe and the United States since World War II. The last generation was incredibly committed to the relationship. They understood how important it was that we had that relationship. The next generation that is coming up doesn’t fully appreciate that those values and those bonds that tie us together are still there and that they are still incredibly important. Conveying that message to the next generation and tying them in to understand that continued value is a challenge.
How can you together with other alumni improve transatlantic relations?
We spend too much time at the high-level policy discussions in New York or Washington or in Berlin and we’re not getting out to peoples’ daily lives.
There is a core group in which we continue to support committed transatlanticists. That is important, but we need to be getting the message out about the importance of the relationship to people who are not aware of it.
Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith was a Fellow in the year 2013-2014
What was your job before you came to Germany as a Fellow?
I worked as chief of staff for a member of the House of Representatives.
What are you doing now?
I got a job as chief operating officer of the American Action Forum, which is a relatively small domestic economic policy focused think tank.
What worries you the most regarding transatlantic relations today?
From an economic perspective, the trade issues weigh pretty heavily, because they are so practical and affect so many people. There has been this fairly radical shift to trade, tariff affairs and I think that’s the most concrete area that is of concern.
How can you together with other alumni improve transatlantic relations?
One of the most important things is just remain engaged. Attend panel discussions! Go to events! Make sure that you are reading research from people who do care about these issues!
Sudha David-Wilp
Sudha David-Wilp was a Fellow in the year 1997-1998
What was your job before you came to Germany as a Fellow?
I had just taken one year off between college and graduate school. I was 24 when I started the program.
What are you doing now?
I’m a Senior Transatlantic Fellow and Deputy Director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States Berlin Office.
What worries you the most regarding transatlantic relations today?
For the first time Americans are questioning the value of our alliance-system that the United States built after the Second World War and we created the whole international order which was based on the US providing a security umbrella that allowed likeminded nations/democracies to share in prosperity and also stability.
The US right now isn’t necessarily an isolationist power but it is questioning tradition. Questioning tradition is good, but we don’t want to get to the point where it is disruptive. Nobody wins at the end. I am afraid that that balance may be off kilter and in that void certainly other countries such as Russia and China could fill that vacuum, and personally, I think, play by rules that democratic societies would not want to have.
How can you together with other alumni improve transatlantic relations?
All alumni are sort of ambassadors here in Germany, but also in the United States about what the transatlantic partnership means. It’s not just about the institution but it’s also about people wanting to have the rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, protection of minorities. […] we may have disagreements on climate change or on what kind of strategy one needs to adopt in the Middle East. Those are policy disagreements, but at the end of the day we share those values that keep our societies safe and stable.
Gale Mattox
Gale Mattox was a Fellow in the year 1984-1985
What was your job before you came to Germany as a Fellow?
I was a teaching at the US Naval Academy.
What are you doing now?
I teach in the Naval Academy’s political science department. I had been a former chair of the political science department, the first female to do that. Furthermore, I adjunct a course on the politics of European security at Georgetown University, and I direct the foreign and domestic policies program at the American Institute for contemporary German studies.
What worries you the most regarding transatlantic relations today?
There is a tremendous uncertainty about the relationship. This administration has challenged the relationships that we had for a very long time. Today, there is a higher level of stress because of what the role of the United States is and what the Unites States would like its role to be, and what it would like Europe’s role to be.
One last question for you as a member as the first cohort of Bosch Fellows: Our new Fellows are going to arrive next week. What would you suggest them for their year in Germany?
They will become part of the Alumni Association, which is an association that will embrace them once they finish their year, where they can raise their voices and let their voices be heard for the transatlantic dialog. From the very beginning, they should anticipate what being a Bosch Fellow really means. It means not only the one year here but it also means almost a lifetime of relationships across the Atlantic.