Germany and the Challenge of Authoritarian Capitalism

Sep

23

About problems to be solved and managed and what problems one might stay away from

The goal of German foreign policy is to deter authoritarian expansion and destabilization in Eastern Europe and, should it become necessary, in East Asia, without pushing the global economy backwards towards autarky, towards the breakdown of global economic interdependence. Balance in 21st century foreign policy is impossible to sustain unless it is a democratic balance, one based in public justification to the electorate.

A foreign policy review, of the kind the Foreign Minister has set in motion, ought to be in search of the principles to apply so that the Minister can make clear choices - about what problems Germany has to solve, what problems Germany can only manage and what problems Germany should stay away from.

Since the end of the Cold War there has been a crescendo of voices from Germany’s friends calling for German leadership to face a widening range of international challenges. Stabilize the Eurozone, ship arms to the Kurds, stand up to Putin, send relief to the Syrians - the calls for German action, especially from the US, multiply by the day.

This is the price of success. When a country manages to overcome a painful past, re-unifies after half a century of enforced division, consolidates its own democracy and develops into one of the world’s strongest economies, it's inevitable that it will face growing demands for leadership.

There are so many new demands, in fact, that the real challenge for German foreign policy is triage: choosing where not to lead, leading where German leadership will make a real difference and staying out of situations where the German contribution will either be marginal or actively unhelpful.

A foreign policy review, of the kind the Foreign Minister has set in motion, ought to be in search of the principles to apply so that the Minister can make clear choices - about what problems Germany has to solve, what problems Germany can only manage and what problems Germany should stay away from.