If one disregards the excitement caused by the aftermath of the withdrawal of the NATO countries from Afghanistan, then foreign and security policy was at best of secondary importance during the election campaign. You could almost say they played almost no role. This is as strange as it is absurd: It is strange because the balance of power in the world is shifting permanently, technological innovations are among the drivers of these shifts, global problems affect us with tremendous force (keyword Corona) and we are losing some old securities threaten to come. It is absurd because Germany is one of those countries that are particularly networked and interwoven internationally and that is therefore directly affected by crises and conflicts. Safety,Prosperity and the future of our democracy depend not least on the state of the world and the constitution of “Europe”. The last thing Germany's politicians and citizens can afford is to give in to the inclination towards provincialism and navel gazing, travel world champion and export champion or not.
Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger
Editor in politics.
Follow I follow
Whichever parties the future German government will be composed of - it will not be able to dispense with the expense of confronting the Germans with the realities of a harsher world.
At least that's what Thomas Bagger, the head of the foreign affairs department in the Federal President's Office, wrote in the new team's workbook.
After 16 years Merkel at the top of Germany and in the center of Europe, our partners near and far are particularly excited about the new leadership.
Because Germany is not the only leader, but also has a central position: in Europe, in the Atlantic community.
Expectations are formulated. Observers are hoping for a more decisive German foreign policy, more decisive action in European policy, a courageous (and credible) appearance on the international stage - and that, although Germany has been in the past few years since the banking and debt crisis, but in an increasingly political one Role has grown into it. “More responsibility” and “more commitment” will continue to be required of the EU anchor country in the future. So let's ask: What does the world expect from Germany? What does America expect from the new federal government, Charles Kupchan?
Charles Kupchan is professor of international relations at the prestigious Georgetown University in Washington, and the first thing he says is not "more spending on armaments" or "strengthening the European pillar" of the transatlantic link, although both points appear several times in our conversation. Kupchan simply says: The Biden government expects “teamwork” from Berlin in the future too; Simply because the German-American relationship, taken in isolation, is extremely important and, moreover, today, after Brexit, is the key to the American-European relationship. In other words: the way from Washington to Brussels often enough leads via Berlin. And what about China? Since the Biden government does not expect a close alliance with Berlin - with a Germanywhose economy is so focused on the Chinese market?