Impulses for a proactive peace policy
The "triad of the rule of law" – police force, judicial system, penal system – could become a German trademark in international peace operations. For its implementation on the ground one might call for viable mandates for peace operations and strengthen them politically and financially. So Germany needs not only to be a star pupil when it comes to chequebook diplomacy, but in its peace policy it should also put one's money where one's mouth is.
The drivers of conflict are well known: the collapse of state structures, scarcity of resources, organised crime, terrorism, migration, religious confrontation.
Why does Germany need a proactive foreign policy? Why does it need to step up its international engagement? In each case there are clear normative and pragmatic reasons. It is in keeping with our values, but also our interests, to replace violence with dialogue and despotism with democracy.
Globalisation is bringing the world ever closer together. So events elsewhere cannot be a matter of indifference to us. (Almost) everyone in Africa or Asia can network with (almost) everyone in Europe or America, can trade with them, exchange information and ideas – or can spread hate-filled ideologies, export weapons and foment violent conflicts.
The drivers of conflict are well known: the collapse of state structures, scarcity of resources, organised crime, terrorism, migration (especially South-South migration), religious confrontation, etc. Furthermore, regional powers in the increasingly multipolar international system will try to secure their spheres of influence – see Ukraine and the South China Sea. We need to join with our international partners to find good responses to this – and to come up even at this stage with good, durable prevention initiatives.
Every civil war that has broken out since 2003 has taken place in a country which has already seen an armed conflict. This was the finding of the 2011 World Development Report. The Report also stated that the most successful post-conflict countries need an average of 17 years to remove the military from politics, 20 years to get their administrations functioning and 27 years to stem corruption. So while short-term interventions bring short-term success, they are not long-term solutions.
Overview for this article
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Enhanced German engagement in multilateral peace operations
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Peace operations – more multilateral engagement
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A good team for international conflict management
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Getting Germans into multilateral organisations
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Rule of law and mediation: German trademarks
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Germany has to strengthen its civilian engagement
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Improve, don't reinvent: a proactive peace policy
