Author: Sandra Rath

As part of Das Progressive Zentrum’s “Transatlantic Dialogue on the Industrial Heartlands” Project, a group of local decision makers from the US Midwest travelled through Belgium and Germany last November to strengthen transatlantic ties and exchange ideas on a common challenge: Fostering economic revival through climate neutral industries and fortifying liberal democracy in industrial heartland regions. During their visit to Brussels, Charleroi, Saarbrücken, Leipzig and Berlin, our delegation met with experts, civil society leaders and politicians on local and federal levels to learn how they approach issues ranging from trust in democracy and political institutions, transforming production towards climate neutrality, the role of science and innovation as well as financial instruments to fund local initiatives.

Meet the Delegation

The delegation was further accompanied by John Austin, Director of the Michigan Economic Center and Senior Fellow at Brookings Insitute and Wolfgang Mössinger, former German Consul General in Chicago as well as our project team with Florian Ranft, Axel Ruppert and Sandra Rath.

Key Takeaways

1. Local green transition projects must be rooted in the identity of the local population and workers, incorporate their needs and encourage their participation.
2. Local and municipal governments must be equipped with the necessary governance tools and funds to impliment bottom-up policies that foster local identification and ownership, thereby countering right-wing populist narratives.
3. To successfully communicate green transition measures, it is imperative to be sensitive towards “change fatigue” and past experiences of upheaval of the local population, especially in East Germany.
4. To rebuild trust in democratic institutions and decision-making, governments must communicate green transition policies transparently and create spaces for deliberation and participation.
5. Providing a local network to connect research and development (R&D) with businesses is crucial to fostering innovation and directly implementing green technology in the region.

In the final meeting of the day, the delegation learned from Saarland’s Minister of Finance, Jakob von Weizsäcker, about Saarland’s Transformation Fund, a fiscal instrument to allocate government funds to local green transition initiatives, underlining the all-of-government approach to the green transition in the Saarland. The meetings of the day emphasized the power of a united approach to green industrial policy that encompasses workers, company management and the political level.

(Fotos: Corinna Mehl)

In a last meeting of the day, our delegation met with Thomas Kralinksi, State Secretary in the Saxon Ministry of Economy, Labour and Transport and Sounding Board member of the Transatlantic Dialogue on the Industrial Heartlands Project. During the conversation, Kralinski spoke about the government’s strategy to attract chips production through the “Silicon Saxony” initiative, thus fosterting the creation of green jobs, and the “Future Sax” platform which aims to connect universities with small and medium sized enterprises around the state. Regarding the rise of right-wing populism in the state, Kralinksi reiterated the fear of change in East Germans rooted in the reunification experience and currently driven by the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, inflation, migration and the war in Ukraine.

(Fotos: Corinna Mehl)

In the afternoon, the delegation attended the official launch of the Transatlantic Dialogue on the Industrial Heartlands Project at Das Progressive Zentrum’s Innocracy Conference. They discussed the Project Fellows’ impulse papers and gave feedback and advice on what topics to focus on throughout the course of the fellowship. The day ended with an informal meeting with representatives of the Atlantikbrücke, rounding up a week of week of transatlantic peer learning on industrial heartland regions.

(Fotos: Fabian Melber)

Authors: Florian Ranft, Axel Ruppert, Sandra Rath

There is a growing convergence of interest and effort on both sides of the Atlantic to bridge geographic economic divides and reconnect residents of industrial heartland communities to economic opportunity. Where these communities continue to decline, residents feel disconnected and alienated from a rapidly changing global economy and polity, while polarizing, resentment-driven and populist political movements that undermine our democracies can grow from within. Where economic regeneration has been done successfully, it serves to return community pride and optimism about the future and reduces political discontent. 

In order to share transatlantic experience and promote effective strategies for investment in people living in industrial heartlands, the Conference on Transatlantic Work to Address “Geographies of Discontent” brings together leaders and economic change practitioners from across Europe, the UK and the US.

After a keynote address by Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Senior Advisor and Vice-President, Bertelsmann Foundation and Sounding Board Member of the Transatlantic Dialogue on the Industrial Heartlands Project, we will engage in discussions with:

• Peter Berkowitz, Director, European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy
• Dr. Raphael L’Hoest, German Deputy Director General, Structural and Regional Policy, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
• Missy Hughes, Secretary & CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
• Bill Peduto, Former Mayor of Pittsburgh, now heading Carnegie Mellon Institute
• Katie Rosenberg, Mayor of Wausau, Wisconsin.

Please note that there is a limited capacity for in-person attendance. We look forward to welcoming you at the convening and discussing the future of industrial heartlands with you.

This conference is organized within the context of a delegation trip of local decisionmakers from the United States to Germany and Europe. The trip’s goal is to engage in a transatlantic exchange on the challenges facing the industrial heartlands in Europe and the United States as well as best practices to tackle them. The delegation trip is organized within the Transatlantic Dialogue on the Industrial Heartlands Project.

On 17 November 2023, we held a workshop called “Democracy at the crossroads in the industrial heartlands – transatlantic perspectives for the future of the places that matter” as part of Das Progressive Zentrum’s Innocracy23 conference.

What are solutions for a better, greener and more democratic life in the “places that don’t matter”?

For a generation, people living in the traditional industrial heartlands all over the world have been buffeted by a technological and services revolution, the decline of manufacturing, and the rise of a borderless global digital economy. The result is deepening inequality, ongoing political support for right-wing populists and a hollowing out of the middle class. From the rise of Trumpism to the successes of the AfD, industrial heartlands lie at the crossroads to the future of our democracies. This is why we we’ve hosted an interactive workshop to discuss best practices, political strategies and policy solutions to foster democratic participation, trust and tangible future perspectives for those living in the places that matter. 

The workshop entailed an inspiring exchange with our 12 project fellows of the “Transatlantic Dialogue on the Industrial Heartlands” project as well as a delegation of seven decision-makers from the US Midwest. Join us for fresh, transatlantic takes on how to tackle the challenges of a just transformation while rebuilding trust in democracy. 

To combat this decline, Das Progressive Zentrum and its partner organizations from the United States have launched the three-year project “Transatlantic Dialogue on the Industrial Heartlands” with the goal of creating new opportunities in old industrial heartlands of both countries by forging a transatlantic dialogue, exchanging best practices, and developing political strategies  and policy solutions for a better, greener, and more democratic future in the “places that don’t matter.” As part of this project, 12 project fellows from the U.S. and Germany are working on the two thematic blocks “Perspectives for the Future, Respect and Participation” and “Climate, Work and Innovation” to demonstrate through their input how the living standards and opportunities for people in the industrial heartlands can be increased while working towards rebuilding trust in democracy in both countries.

As part of the workshop “Democracy at the crossroads in the industrial heartlands – transatlantic perspectives for the future of the places that matter”, we introduced the Industrial Heartlands project and the 12 project fellows presented their impulse papers as a starting point for their project work. Afterwards, participants exchanged ideas with you in four groups and discuss the topics of “Participation and Democracy”, the “Industrial Transformation”, “Bidenomics and the Green Deal – Local Implementation” and “Countering the Far Right”.