The German government’s 2011 abstention from the United Nations Security Council vote on military intervention in Libya raised questions about Germany’s role in the international system. By abstaining, Germany broke with its Western allies and aligned itself with four of the BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. Its ‘non-Western’ act unleashed a debate on the future of German foreign policy. This contribution aims to provide an understanding of Germany’s new foreign policy.
The Ukrainian crisis is less about Ukraine, its national politics and foreign policy, and more about redefining the rules not only of the European security but also the international order and the simmering rivalry between great powers in particular.
With few convergences among partners, the path of the “traffic light coalition” headed by Olaf Scholz is laden with challenges, but also offers spaces for positive action. With several new faces in key positions, its success would lie in maintaining continuity, and tweaking it to accommodate necessary changes when required.
While planning and executing kinetic operations, it is essential to look at various facets of force application including the possibilities of accidents or surprise attacks by the adversary.
The CDU’s likely coalition partners are the Green Party and the Free Democrats. Such a coalition can work because all partners share a common design on European Unity and socio-economic policies at home.
India and Germany have complementarities that can make them effective partners. However, converting these complementarities into possibilities will depend on creating conducive environment for greater German investment and a better understanding of the German world view.
If Greece defaults and walks out, the EU will be in crisis. Speculators will go for Spain and the EU will not be able to find the money to bail out a large economy such as that of Spain.
