- October 02, 2020
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- July 10, 2025
On October 2, 2020, Aspen Germany hosted the third event of its series “Virtual Road to the Laboratories of Democracy Initiative.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, German and American subnational governments are at the frontline of tackling the virus and its economic and social impact. They have a key role to play in tracking and testing, supplying personal protective equipment, implementing and lifting lockdown measures, and delivering long-term recovery. At the same time, a successful response to the virus also depends on a coordinated response on all levels of government and among all government branches. This webinar addressed how subnational governments and state legislators in particular shape the COVID-19 response in the United States and Germany. What is the role of U.S. states and German Länder in the COVID-19 crisis? How are responsibilities and powers with regard to addressing the pandemic divided among the state and federal level? How have state legislatures been involved? How have U.S. states and German Länder responded to the pandemic and what are some best practices on state level? How are the different levels of government (local, state, federal level) and neighboring states working together to tackle the virus? How has partisanship played a role? Has the federal system facilitated or complicated the COVID-19 response?
This webinar series is part of the “Laboratories of Democracy Initiative” which brings together German and American state legislators to facilitate a values-based discussion and an exchange of ideas about how to tackle current international policy challenges on a subnational level. In 2020 due to COVID-19, Aspen Germany holds a series of webinars as part of a “Virtual Road to the Laboratories of Democracy Initiative” providing a virtual platform for exchange for the 2020 cohort. The webinar series explores subnational governance in the United States and Germany amid COVID-19, leadership in times of crisis, the role of tech in the COVID-19 response, and prospects for German-American cooperation. The project is supported by the Transatlantic Program of the Federal Republic of Germany, funded by the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi).
