- September 12, 2024
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- September 12, 2024
On September 12, 2024, the Aspen Institute Germany and the American Council on Germany hosted the thirteenth discussion in the virtual event series State-to-State: German-American State Legislator Dialogue with German and U.S. state legislators. While global challenges are traditionally addressed by national governments, increasingly subnational actors such as states, communities, and cities have stepped up to take action when nation-states have been unable to make progress due to political polarization and partisan gridlock. This trend has also characterized transatlantic relations and the German-American partnership.
Critical infrastructure forms the backbone of modern, well-functioning societies. Unfortunately, these infrastructures face increasing threats from natural disasters, health crises, as well as physical and cyberattacks on both sides of the Atlantic. While defining critical infrastructure is complex, in general it refers to the systems, organizations, facilities, assets, services, and networks that are essential to the well-functioning of societies. Subnational governments play a fundamental role in proactively safeguarding the security and functionality of critical infrastructure, but also in developing guidelines for responding to potential disruptions. As a result, they are often at the forefront of such disasters because they are closer to affected communities and play a key role in emergency response operations. They also play a key role in coordinating with other levels of government and non-governmental organizations to ensure a coordinated and effective response. What are the primary challenges faced by policy makers at the state level in managing threats to critical infrastructure? What mechanisms are in place to quickly react to crisis on both sides of the Atlantic and how can we learn from one another? On September 12 our panel of state legislators from the United States, Canada, and Germany, explored these questions and offered valuable insights into the shared challenges faced on both sides of the Atlantic.
We discussed these issues with Senator Tracy Pennycuick, Member of the Pensylvania State Senate (Republican), Michael Lee MLA, Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Colunbia (BC United) and Heide Richter-Airjoki MdL, Member of the Parliament of Saxony-Anhalt (SPD).
This event is part of the State-to-State: German-American State Legislator Dialogue which the Aspen Institute Germany and the American Council on Germany have launched to provide a platform for subnational exchange amongst German and American state legislators and a broader audience on common transatlantic challenges. The project builds on Aspen Germany’s Laboratories of Democracy Initiative, a transatlantic exchange program for German and American state legislators.
