Claudia Clark after spending time in Germany wrote a definitive book on the Barack Obama & Angela Merkel partnership. She discusses it with us.
Claudia Clark on the Obama/Merkel relationship.
We know US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as two of the world’s most influential leaders, together at the center of some of the biggest controversies and most impressive advancements of our time. But while their friendship has been the subject of both scrutiny and admiration, few know the full story.
Taking office at the height of the 2008 global recession, Obama was keenly aware of the fractured relationship between the US and Europe. And for her part, Merkel was suspicious of the charismatic newcomer who had captivated her country.
Faced with the challenges of globalization, the two often clashed over policy, but—as the first Black president and first female chancellor—they shared a belief that democracy could uplift the world. United by this conviction, they would forge a complicated but inspiring partnership.
Dear Barack is a thoroughly researched document of the parallel trajectories that led to Obama and Merkel meeting on the world stage and the trials, both personal and political, that they confronted in office. At times in the leaders’ own words, the book details such events as Merkel’s historic acceptance of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and the 2013 NSA spying scandal, demonstrating the highs and lows of this extraordinary alliance.
Claudia Clark is the author of the upcoming book Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Public Policy from Michigan State University. She was the President of the College Democrats at Michigan State and was active in Amnesty International, NOW, and Pro-Choice groups. Clark holds an M.A. in Labor in Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Masters in U.S. History with an emphasis on women’s history from San Jose State University, and a Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Michigan with an emphasis in Community Organizing. She and her husband reside in Berlin, Germany, where she previously served as national Get Out the Vote (GOTV) coordinator for the Democrats Abroad Germany Chapter.
Claudia goes through the Br
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