Big News: Democracy Americana Now Also Available in German

No worries: Nothing changes over here on the main feed. I am just adding a second channel – same content, same analysis, but accessible in an additional language.

By Thomas Zimmer, June 13, 2026

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Dear all,

Just a quick update today with some exiting news: I have launched a German version of this newsletter. Please welcome: Demokratie Americana. (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

What is it?

“Demokratie Americana” – that’s not exactly a super imaginative name. But it is fitting, I believe, because it’s not going to be a different newsletter. Just this newsletter here made available in a different language. Same analysis, same content. Just Democracy Americana in German.

And to be absolutely clear: Nothing changes over here at all. I am not taking anything away from Democracy Americana. Just adding a second language track, if you will.

The reason why I am not simply sending out the German version via this channel is that I don’t want to bother the vast majority of you, who are reading the English original, with more posts and mor emails in German; likewise, I think it’s better if those who are interested in reading / listening in German get their own thing. Frankly, having the German version as what is technically a separate newsletter will also help with the visibility: It will make it easier for people to find, easier to promote, easier to build an audience.

For those of you who are interested in accessing the German version, I do want to make the transition as easy as possible. And that means two things:

1) If you are a paid member of Democracy Americana, I am not trying to sell you anything extra. No one has to pay double. If you want access to all the member-exclusive content in the German version, you’ll just have to alert me, so that I can get you equipped with a German membership at no extra cost to you. Easiest way to do that is to leave your name and email in the little survey I have set up below:

(or, if you prefer, you can also just email me directly or leave a comment under this post)

2) If you are a free subscriber over here and just want to read the free version of the German newsletter, I guess the easiest approach is to just subscribe over at Demokratie Americana. However, if you prefer, you can also leave your email in this second survey below and I will happily migrate you over, no need for you to do anything else:

Either way: If you are running into any kind of trouble, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know. I am sure we can figure it out together.

Why am I doing this?

Since you are all subscribers or even paid members, I don’t need to repeat Democracy Americana’s mission statement. But I do want to share the thought process behind this decision to launch a German version.

I have been writing Democracy Americana since November 2022. Until now, I was very reluctant to even consider making it available in German. It’s just a lot of extra work – and I’ll admit that makes me a little nervous.

However, since moving over here to Germany last summer, I have been more directly and immediately confronted with the German America discourse. There is tremendous interest on this side of the Atlantic, and rightfully so, in all things USA. And it’s not like there is a paucity of voices chiming in. In fact, I’d say there is too much breathless coverage. Whatever German newspaper you’ll look at, whatever news broadcast you’re watching, whatever political radio show you are listening to: There will be Trump, Trump, Trump… But it’s often frantic, more reproducing the endless outrageousness of our moment rather than helping to digest it. What is lacking is perspective, context, depth. This is where I believe I can have an impact with Democracy Americana. Although I do regularly write for German media, it is only here, in my own independent publication, where I get the chance to tackle the issues I believe need tackling, in as much depth as I believe they require.

So far, my German-speaking audience is rather limited, actually – making up less than five percent of all readers of Democracy Americana. I am guessing there are plenty of reasons for that. But it seems plausible that a big one is the fact that the newsletter has only ever been available in English. Most people over here who are interested in U.S. politics and history do read and understand English, of course. But it is still a different hurdle to engage with the type of long-form essay I am writing in a language other than your native tongue. The barrier to entry is just higher. And I fundamentally believe that I should make every effort to lower those barriers as much as possible and make my work accessible to anyone who is interested.

Finally, I will also admit that I am hoping to be able to intervene a little more forcefully in the German America discourse once my work is available in German as well.

(I am not sure if that needs to be said, but I want to say it, for the record: What I am offering is 100 percent AI-free – here as well as over at Demokratie Americana. The research, structuring, writing, audio recording, and now also translating not just into a different language, but also for a different audience is all being done by me. No AI. Ever.)

I will admit this is an experiment that makes me nervous a little bit. I hope the German version will find an audience. My own established audience in Germany / among German-speakers is comparatively limited. Please help me find whoever might be interested and whoever might benefit!

What’s coming up next?

I want to end on two quick notes. First of all, my sincere apologies for the lighter posting schedule in June so far. I have had to take care off a lot of “business” stuff – the price to be paid when you are a full-time author who is trying to put out an independent publication by yourself… Now that the German newsletter is launched, we should be getting back to our normal schedule.

Secondly, I have been working on some exciting stuff. Last week, I got to discuss “What’s next, America?” with historian Adam Tooze and former German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck in front of a large live audience in Berlin (the conversation is now available in both podcast (Si apre in una nuova finestra) as well as video form (Si apre in una nuova finestra)). It was a clarifying discussion, and I want to reflect a little bit on what we agreed about, where we disagreed, and what the main takeaways might be from what turned into a wide-ranging discussion about the state of democracy on either side of the Atlantic. 

The other thing I have been working and writing on is a proper deep dive into all the many ways the “polarization” narrative obscures far more than it illuminates. Really, if only we could stop talking about “polarization.” I’ll make the case to you why we need to finally move beyond that utterly misleading tale.

Thank you, as always, for your time – and for allowing me, metaphorically speaking, a seat at your table as we are all trying to figure out what is happening around us and what to do about it.

Take care, Thomas