Reliable partnerships: Germany's path through the geopolitical crisis

Reliable partnerships: Germany's path through the geopolitical crisis

International politics is anything but stable - this has been made clear not least by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. These developments have dashed hopes for reliable relations with Moscow, such as taz.de reported. In an environment in which reliability is rare, Germany's role as a trading nation also comes into focus. The need to forge new, reliable partnerships is becoming more urgent.

The current environment of international relations is dynamic and calls for a fundamental reassessment of one's own policies. In Berlin, the concept of reliability is often shaped by historical experiences, which leads to a poorly differentiated understanding. While the United States has long been seen as the guarantor of a rules-based world order, the current fractures in US policy and Russia's aggressive moves can no longer be ignored. This shows that Germany has also reached a turning point.

New security strategies for Germany

The challenges in foreign and security policy were named by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in his government statement on February 27, 2022 during the “turning point”. In recent decades, Germany has benefited from an international order, but has often held back when it comes to actively contributing to maintaining this order. Scholz emphasizes the need to adapt to new security policy requirements and develop strategies to strengthen Germany's position in Europe. Particularly noteworthy here is the increase in defense spending through an announced “Bundeswehr special fund” amounting to 100 billion euros in order to secure the military’s ability to act in the future bpb.de.

The three central challenges that Scholz outlines are the country's security, asserting itself as part of a free Europe and restoring a multilateral order. The focus of these considerations remains NATO, which is of crucial importance for Germany and Europe. At the same time, more active engagement in European security policy is called for, and the EU should also act as a framework for action for Germany.

The path to reliability

In Berlin, the topic of reliability should not just be viewed in an abstract way. It is about developing a new, holistic understanding that includes behavior between states, the dynamic changes in the international environment and the relational aspects of partnerships. It is therefore recommended to pursue new approaches that enable a structured assessment of existing partnerships and at the same time establish new collaborations. This also includes setting up a platform to maintain bilateral relations and a database of possible partner states.

Germany, which does not act alone in geopolitical issues, is required to concentrate not only on tried and tested partnerships, but also on alternative ones. French and British foreign policy already shows that many states have an interest in reliable international rules, and Germany could benefit from a more strategic “partnership policy,” as taz.de concludes.

Overall, Germany faces exciting times in which it needs to redefine its own role in the global arena and set the course for a safe and reliable Europe.