Saideman's Semi-Spew: Berlin 2024: Report Eins!

Yes, I went back to the East Side Gallery my first
weekend, as it was not closed on Sunday
most shopping is closed)

I have been in Berlin for one week thus far, with nearly three months to go. It has been a very busy week, and it did not just involve getting situated. But, yes, that took some effort and time as well. So, what have been up to in the shadow of the TV tower that is featured in any movie that wants to depict Berlin as a destination?

First, yes, getting situated. I am staying near the Hertie School's Center for International Security, which is just off of Alexanderplatz. The apartment has much of what I need, but I had to go out and get a pillow (made in Canada!), a printer, groceries, and a residence permit. Yes, the country of Max Weber is very bureaucratic. Because there is much demand these days for all kinds of paperwork, I was lucky to snare an appointment on the farthest southern edge of Berlin. I got my paperwork stamped, so I can reside in Berlin officially. woot!

President of Hertie, the Chinese former VM,
and Tobias Bunde

Second, it turns out that my timing is good and the Hertie School is a happening place. Tobias Bunde, one of the researchers here, is also a/the organizer of the Munich Security Conference which happened the weekend I arrived. So, he brought a former Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs to a packed room (the Hertie students are from all over and they are keeners) where she presented her take on what happened at Munich and what are the major trends in international relations. I found her to be the best representative of the Chinese government: her English was great, she was not overly polemical, she knew her audience, and so forth. She definitely presented a biased point of view, but a clear one that was well asserted. She noted for instance that only four panels out of a hundred at the conference were on Gaza. She pointed that the discussions on that and on Ukraine were focused on problems, not solutions. But she was not pressed to offer any solutions. She contrasted the threat to freedom of the seas--that it is a problem for commercial shipping in the Red Seas but only a threat to American warships in the South China Sea. Hmmmm. She talked about Asia's long peace, she seems to be omitting the occasional Indo-Pakistan conflict. Speaking of omissions, she argued that occupation never works, and that this something the Americans should have known in 2003 and the Russians should have known two years ago. I was tempted to ask about Tibet or perhaps Chinese intentions towards Taiwan, but the event was for students. It was a great way to jump into things and meet a bunch of folks.

No pics of Peter K,
but of other
important thinkers

Another event was a session with Peter Katztenstein--one of the most important scholars in both International Relations and Comparative Politics for the past fifty years. Required reading, indeed. He was presented his latest book project (no retirement yet) that is pretty complex, raising meta questions about our thinking and about our need to think about uncertainty. It was similar to Debbi Avant's presidential address at the ISA a couple of years ago. He gave us a few chapters, the crowded room had read it, and so it was mostly Q&A. After the talk, he sat near me and we chatted a bit. That he has written books comparing Germany and Japan was not lost on me given my latest projects.

Next week, there will be a conference I am crashing at Hertie on the state of Zeitenwende and whether other countries are experiencing it as well. Huh? Oh, this refers to a speech by Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz shortly after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, that we live in a watershed moment, that we need to have a revolution in foreign and defense policy. He committed to a lot more defense spending and ending German dependence on Russian energy. The big questions are: how much of this has and is happening and whether other countries are rethinking their place in the world. I hope to find out next week.

Third, I have been getting some work done. I have started arranging interviews for the German case, finalizing the details for a trip to Finland in April to do that case study, doing the same for a research presentation at Central European University in Vienna in a few weeks (and, yes, nailing down the details for an Alps ski trip). I also revised three chapters of the Steve/Dave/Phil book before Dave tries to find some interest at the ISA in April. I hope to do my turn on the rest of the book in the next week.

Fourth, I have, of course, been touristing. I spent last weekend and today walking around this part of Berlin. I am far more familiar with west Berlin, as I have been largely based at hotels in west Berlin. My first walks were more targeted as I was looking for grocery stores (and google maps kept lying about where they were).

Some observations, which may be due to change over time or may be due to East Berlin being a bit different than West Berlin:

Less adherence to the guidance of the little green/red Ampelmännchen, as I saw more people walking despite the red signs. Is this a sign that German society is breaking down?
Or is that the walk signals in East Berlin are too damned short? I can't tell you on how many streets I have been stuck in the middle (mostly where the trams go) as the light turns red very quickly.
I don't remember this much graffiti all over the place last time. On the bright side, when a store or something has nice wall art, the vandals or artists paint elsewhere.
Lots of reconstruction and renovations going on.
Lots more Five Guys burger places than I can recall. I haven't tried them yet, as I am mostly doing my own modest cooking (this apartment's kitchen is not well equipped, so no baking and only basic dinners). I did start off my time here with currywurst and chips, but I think my go-to cheap food will be kebabs/shawarma stuff. I did happen to walk past an Indonesian place, so I will be returning to that neighborhood when I am tired of my own cooking.

Today's walk was more random, as I would head in one direction and then find something interesting on the map. Which took me to a memorial for those who the East German government killed at the Berlin Wall, which, yes, has been down longer than it has been up. I learned a great deal:

I should have realized how dynamic the interplay between Communist government and those seeking to escape would be. The wall such as it was kept evolving as the government learned via the escapes and attempts.
Part of the memorial showing
where the house got built over by
the wall
Including tunneling! 57 people got out through one tunnel--amazing.
The wall itself caused more people to want to leave as it signaled more repression.
The evolution of the barrier included destruction of a church (one dedicated to Reconciliation!) and the movement of dead bodies from a graveyard, it involved boarding up and then destroying houses.

There were a fair amount of German tour groups going through this area, so yes, still much interest even as it recedes in our memories.

The other new experience for me is a 21st century gym. I have mostly exercised on ultimate fields, bike rides through neighborhoods, the treadmill in our basement, and the occasional hotel fitness center. There is a spiffy, reasonable place near me that has the stuff I need (treadmills, space to stretch to try to fix my balky knee) and far more stuff. The denizens are in much, much better shape than I am, doing all kinds of exercises that I would not attempt, so that has been a funky distraction while I sweat out the pastries I have been buying. The bakeries here are good, and, yes, they like their donuts. I have resisted mightily but not entirely.

Next week, I will report what I learned at zeintenwende-fest.

Some random pics from my walks: