External View

Germany, having once been the model for a hard approach to power politics is now the model for a much softer alternative. In the period that began with the country's unification in 1871 and concluded with the end of the Second World War, German foreign policy tended to the view that states were engaged in a constant struggle for power in which only the fittest would survive.

The challenge for the great powers, according to this model, was to control their neighbourhoods, including those of distant colonies, even if that meant subjugating those who resisted.

In the period after 1945 Germany became associated with a much more benign approach, which foreswore aggression, had no thought of colonies, required close cooperation with allies and partners, and sought influence only through multilateral institutions. This model was not only much more civilised, not least because it did not involve picking regular fights, but also much more successful.

Unlike the crudely realist model of the first half of the 20th century, which exaggerated the extent to which one state could control people and events beyond its borders, this model encouraged the development of an open international economic system in which Germany, with its strong manufacturing base, could flourish.