What’s at Stake? US-Midterm elections 2026
Insights and Implications for the Trump-II-administration, the US and the rest of the world
A students’ conference in English
Montag, 02.11.2026
| 15:00 Uhr |
Arrival, check-in and coffee and cake |
| 16:00 Uhr |
Welcome: Welcome and interactive introduction Getting to know each other, expectations, program presentation Dr. Philipp Buchallik, Protestant Academy Loccum Supported by - Christian J. Gross, Democrats Abroad, Chapter Göttingen-Hannover, Chair - Dr. Maxi Albrecht, Research Associate American Studies, Siegen University - Svea Bödecker, Teamer, Protestant Academy Loccum |
| 17:15 Uhr |
Keynote 1: What are the Midterms actually about? Dr. Matthew LeMieux, Lecturer in U.S. Law, Research Associate, and Coordinator of the FFA (Foreign-Language Specialized Training), Osnabrück University |
| - |
Keynote 2: What’s at stake? Will the 2026 U.S. midterms be a turning point? Dr. Julia Simon, Department 08 - Social Sciences, Institute for European Studies, University of Bremen (Online) |
| 18:30 Uhr |
Dinner |
| 19:30 Uhr |
What’s at Stake? Throwback I: How the arts are dealing with American history and the founding myths of the USA |
| - |
Movie Night: Hamilton (2020) With a short introduction from Dr. Maxi Albrecht, Cultural Studies Scholar, Research Associate American Studies, Siegen University |
Dienstag, 03.11.2026
| 08:15 Uhr |
Invitation to morning devotion, followed by breakfast |
| 09:30 Uhr |
Good morning, USA: Check-in election-day |
| - |
What’s at Stake? Throwback II: American historical roots, American values and the way they are discussed today |
| 09:45 Uhr |
Hamilton as contemporary statement in polarized publics, or what’s the fuzz around Hamilton all about? Dr. Maxi Albrecht, Research Associate American Studies, Siegen University |
| 10:30 Uhr |
Coffeebreak |
| 10:45 Uhr |
What remains of the American Revolution? Or why it matters 250 years after the Declaration of Independence PD Dr. Hannah Spahn, Cultural Historian, John-F.-Kennedy Institute, Culture Department, Freie Universität Berlin |
| 11:30 Uhr |
Joint discussion of both inputs |
| 12:30 Uhr |
Lunch |
| 13:15 Uhr |
Possibility to visit the monastery, go for a walk in the forest or take a break |
| 14:45 Uhr |
Working and preparational groups on various issues, e.g. Online talks, Trivia Game, Moderation tasks … |
| 15:30 Uhr |
Coffee and cake |
| 16:00 Uhr |
The role of religion in US politics Arnd Henze, Author and Journalist, WDR (online) |
| 16:45 Uhr |
Working and preparational groups on various issues, e.g. Online talks, Trivia Game, Moderation tasks … |
| 17:30 Uhr |
Keynote 3: Where do we stand tonight? Polarization, uncertainty, geopolitics at the brink of the midterms Dr. Jakob Wiedekind, DAAD Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (online) |
| 18:30 Uhr |
Dinner |
| 19:30 Uhr |
Preparing online talks |
| 20:00 Uhr |
Loccum is calling – personal views of Americans in different parts of the US (online) talks in groups |
| 21:00 Uhr |
Trivia game (optional) |
Mittwoch, 04.11.2026
| 06:00 Uhr |
The polls are closed: live election broadcast (voluntary) |
| 08:15 Uhr |
Invitation to morning devotion, followed by breakfast |
| 09:30 Uhr |
Wrapping up the likely election results, Trumps second term and its impact – so far? And predictions for the road to the 2028 presidential elections Aaron Allen, Senior nonresident Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis and an international affairs lecturer, teaching at Bard College Berlin |
| 10:15 Uhr |
Coffeebreak |
| 10:30 Uhr |
Opening Statement: Losing a Friend? Personal Observations on Transatlantic Relations Michael Roth, Author, former Minister of State for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office (2013–2021), former Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag (2021–2025), author and consultant |
| 10:45 Uhr |
What’s at stake? Transatlantic Debate on the Midterm Elections, their Background and their Consequences Main panelists: - Michael Roth, former Minister of State for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office (2013–2021), former Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag (2021–2025), author and consultant - Aaron Allen, Senior nonresident Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis and an international affairs lecturer, teaching at Bard College Berlin |
| 12:15 Uhr |
Farewell: Feedback and conclusion of the conference |
| 12:30 Uhr |
Lunch |
| 13:15 Uhr |
Bus departure to Wunstorf Station Arrival at appr. 14:00 |