Germany

President Trump has targeted Germany over its supposed dependence on Russian natural gas, and the proposed Nord Stream 2 is dividing the EU. What’s in store for Europe’s pipeline politics?

It is rare for government officials to openly intervene in the domestic affairs of other democracies. But conventional rules do not apply to President Trump, who inaccurately tweeted about a 10 percent rise in crime in Germany. Here's how Germans reacted. 

At a UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) conference in Abuja, Abika Dabiri-Erewa—the senior special assistant to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on diaspora and foreign affairs—warned that Germany will likely deport between twenty-five and thirty thousand Nigerian asylum seekers. She said many claims for asylum were spurious: “some who are from the East and West are saying they are running away from Boko Haram while others say they are gays and were having challenges expressing themselves in Nigeria.” She said the Nigerian foreign ministry is working with German authorities “to see how the entire process [of deportation] can be made easier.” She did not indicate when deportations would begin. The announcement from Dabiri-Erewa comes on the heels of a meeting between a German envoy and Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama last month to discuss Nigerian migrants in Germany. Resettling Nigerians deported from Europe will be challenging for Nigerian authorities, hence the call for Nigerians not to participate in “irregular” migration. However, rather than convincing would-be migrants to stay put, European efforts to reduce migrant flows are simply forcing them elsewhere. At the same conference, another Nigerian official lamented that Nigerians are now migrating to “unpopular” countries like Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Mali.  Nigeria’s large population, tradition of migration, and stagnant economy suggest significant emigration will continue. But a successful asylum applicant must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, social class, and other legally defined criteria. It will therefore be difficult for most Nigerians to obtain asylum in European countries. Even so, Dabiri-Erewa’s suggestion that “gays” are unqualified to seek asylum in Europe is ironic; Nigeria’s deep-seated homophobia can expose gay Nigerians to persecution that may in fact qualify them for asylum.  

Germany's new coalition government wants Facebook to be more transparent about how its algorithms decide who sees what content. That might sound satisfying, but it is unlikely to stem the spread of disinformation online. 

Digital and cyber policy issues played an important part in last year's German election. Here's what to expect over the next four years. 

This week: the Microsoft-Ireland case, Apple hands over the keys to China, and a compromise of German government networks. 

Welcome to “Women Around the World: This Week,” a series that highlights noteworthy news related to women and U.S. foreign policy. This week’s post, covering September 17 to 28, was compiled with support from Becky Allen and Anne Connell.

Germany’s elections will determine whether Chancellor Angela Merkel remains in power, with ramifications for the migration crisis, the future of the European Union, and U.S.-German relations.

New laws in democratic countries that force social media platforms to remove disinformation will encourage autocratic countries to do the same, with devastating effects on human rights.

U.S. tech firms have always found the European market a tricky one to navigate. Germany's new social media law is the latest challenge they will have to overcome.