The German chemical industry is signaling a severe crisis with production, sales, and capacity utilization declining amid rising costs and regulatory pressures. Industry representatives report a ‘knockout’ scenario as traditional sites face threats; BASF has already shifted some production abroad,…
In many German debates, “integration” is treated as if it were a one-sided exam: newcomers are the candidates, the “natives” are the invisible jury. If you speak German without an accent, avoid complaining too much, never criticise government policy and…
We often talk about “the media” as if it were one unified actor with a single agenda. In reality, today’s media landscape is a battleground between two very different projects: a project of manufacturing fear and a project of building…
Our main public square today is no longer the marketplace – it is the smartphone screen. Through this screen, we follow the news, join discussions and, inevitably, run into hate speech and sometimes openly extremist content that justifies violence or…
When public debates in Germany turn to “extremism”, many people immediately think of Islamist terrorism. Media coverage and political campaigns often amplify this association. Yet, if we look at Germany’s own official documents, a different picture emerges: right-wing extremism is…
In 2015, Farhad Azizi arrived in Germany from Iran as a refugee. Like many others, he brought only a few personal belongings – and a set of skills he had learned in his uncle’s small tiling workshop back home. He…
Germany has been facing a severe shortage of skilled workers for years in sectors such as healthcare, engineering, IT and skilled trades. The updated Skilled Immigration Act (Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz) is the central policy response, built on a three-pillar model and complemented…
On 27 June 2024, Germany’s Act to Modernise Nationality Law entered into force, bringing substantial changes for migrants and long-term residents. The reform centres on two main pillars: a shorter residence period for naturalisation and a broad opening towards multiple…
Quick verdict:The claim that “AI will soon wipe out journalism as a profession” is highly exaggerated.Current research suggests that AI will automate some newsroom tasks and reshape workflows, but is far more likely to function as a powerful assistive tool…
Quick verdict:The claim that “cash will be banned soon” is exaggerated and misleading.The digital euro is indeed moving forward as a project of the European Central Bank, but EU institutions consistently describe it as a complement, not a replacement, for…
