As the recognized leader of Europe, Germany can change the course of world history.
So how can Germany, with a modest population of 80 million (smaller than many mid-sized Asian countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Philippines and Thailand) provide leadership which can transform our world? The simple answer is that it has to leverage its leadership of Europe to provide global leadership. On its own, Germany cannot persuade America or Russia, China or India, to change course. However, as the recognized leader of Europe, Germany can change the course of world history.
Many Germans, including thoughtful German intellectuals, would baulk at the idea that Germany can change the course of world history. To dismiss the scepticism, let me suggest one concrete way in which Germany can provide leadership. Germany’s tragic past, which has been seen as a historical liability, can become a historical asset in this mission.
The modern European Union (EU) has had many great achievements. Ironically, its greatest achievement is the one that Europe speaks the least about. Today in Europe, we do not just have zero wars between Germany and the United Kingdom, France and Spain. We have zero prospect of war between any two EU members. This is the greatest civilizational achievement of Europe and indeed one of humanity’s greatest achievements. Just imagine a world where there is zero prospect of war between Russia and America, China and Japan, India and Pakistan. Clearly we would be living on a much better planet if this were to happen.
If one of the most war-torn continents in human history, namely Europe, can achieve zero prospect of war, why can't the rest of the world do so? I believe it can do so by borrowing the secret new "DNA" that Europe has implanted in itself. The best way to understand the elements of this new DNA is to apply them to the five major global relationships that Europe will have to deal with in the 21st century: America, Russia, Asia, Islamic North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Europe's destiny—and Germany's destiny—will depend on how it manages these five relationships.
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