Johanna Roth

A place of longing, a canvas for projections, a global power—hardly any other country is as steeped in hopes, images, and contradictions as the United States. In *This is America – is this America? *, Johanna Roth explores what remains of the American Dream since independence in 1776—and why it has been ambivalent from the very beginning. She paints a multifaceted picture of the U.S. caught between the promise of freedom and exclusion, political division and cultural influence. A fresh look at the history and present of a country that shapes the world—and is, at the same time, deeply unsettled.

Johanna Roth studied literature and political science and graduated from the German School of Journalism. She was an editor at taz and is now the Washington correspondent for Die Zeit.

In the seriesSpotlight USA – Democracy Under Pressure
250 years of American democracy—and at the same time a political shift with global consequences: Spotlight USA analyzes how the balance of political power is shifting during President Trump’s second term and what security and economic policy consequences “America First” has for transatlantic relations. In this series, influential voices from politics, academia, law, and culture discuss what freedom, law, and democracy in the 21st century.