The Eurasian Logic of Ostpolitik: Testing the Limits of Normative Geoeconomics
- January-February 2026 |
This essay examines how Germany developed and sustained a strategic energy partnership with Russia after reunification, and how this policy was legitimised through the European Union’s normative discourse. Through a focused analysis of post-Cold War Ostpolitik culminating in the Nord Stream era, it shows how successive German governments framed energy interdependence with Russia as a normative project of stability and modernisation, while downplaying geopolitical and security concerns. Building on Mackinder’s theoretical framework, the essay does not present Ostpolitik as an ideological project, but rather as an expression of Germany’s continental geopolitical position, which has manifested across different political eras. Regarding the relationship between Normative Power and Geopolitics, the essay does not treat these as mutually reinforcing concepts. On the contrary, the core argument highlights the tension and contradiction between Germany’s normative self-representation and the material imperatives shaping its Eastern policy. Lastly, the research demonstrates that Russia’s war against Ukraine has exposed the structural vulnerabilities of geo-economic dependence, undermining European security and strategic coherence.
