This is what the Review 2014 experts are saying
Who are Germany's partners and what goals do we want to reach with them? With whom should Germany maintain strategic partnerships, with whom should we opt instead for a community of interests? Read an overview of opinions expressed by experts in Review 2014. We are also interested in your opinions on Germany’s international partnerships. How important is the traditional integration with the West? With whom should Germany build bridges for the future? Join in the discussion, for foreign policy concerns us all.
There is a great debate among the External Views at Review 2014 on where Germany sees its place between traditional integration with the West on the one hand, and engaging with emerging powers on the other.
First of all, the following principle still holds true: "Better Franco-German relations will not solve all European problems, but all attempts to solve them will remain half-baked unless flanked by a Franco-German consensus." (Lepenies)
For Europe has to master a difficult balancing act: "Europe needs to find a delicate balance between an assertive posture that upholds values and principles that are as relevant today as they were in 1945, and a deliberative process of diplomacy and engagement with the new world that is emerging."(Guéhenno)
On the one hand, Germany is expressly warned not to jeopardise the transatlantic link and not to place too much importance on the current differences such as on the NSA or the policy on Israel (Krause). The Western alliance is "the key political and strategic issue for Europe" and this should be made clear by way of increased military spending within the NATO framework. All "dreams of neutrality and equidistance" are emphatically rejected (Techau).
Indeed, the US, working through NATO, is the principal cause of peace in Europe, not the EU (Mearsheimer). Likewise, for Wolffsohn the ties with the US are absolutely essential: "Without the US there is no NATO, and thus no protection". Strong support for TTIP is also called for in this context (Garton Ash).
In contrast, many non-Western voices expect Germany to be more self-confident and to develop a more independent foreign policy. Mabubani even says that the EU should "multilateralise America" and "Europeanise Russia". Annan believes that Germany and Europe are pioneers in global climate policy and can only push through their goals in the face of US opposition if they form a united stand.
Germany is even seen as a potential bridge between the industrialised North and the "rising South" which shares a whole series of interests with countries such as India, Brazil, Japan, South Africa and Nigeria (Adebajo/Virk).
Germany's policy on Russia should not only be understood through the conflict over Crimea but must be integrated into a "broader Eurasian strategy, which also includes China and India, as well as other major Eurasian players such as Turkey and Iran" (Trenin, also Godement).
From China's viewpoint "German foreign policy needs to refrain from being "western" and overly ideologically driven, and adopt a more globally oriented approach. [...] Shall Germany build or strengthen the Western fortress? Or shall it work closely with other international players in providing common goods such as energy, maritime, food, and product security, prevention of climate change, etc, which clearly cannot be achieved within the western bloc?" (Hong)
In essence, Germany has to "advance a debate about the type of the world to which it would want to belong" (Swieboda). In principle, it seems necessary in future to decide more firmly with which states Germany wants to enter into "strategic partnerships" and where there are simply "communities of interest"(Stein/Tempel)? Strategic partnerships are aimed at the longer term, and should therefore be restricted to countries, such as the US and the other European member states, with similar fundamental values. "Communities of interest", on the other hand, may be much broader and be limited to the implementation of certain policies such as fighting climate change or expanding trade relations.
