The End of Self-bondage : German Foreign Policy in a World Without Leadership

Europe is in a permanent state of crisis: nationalisms, brexit and seemingly insurmountable differences on issues of migration, reforming the euro zone and improving its global competitiveness are threatening the cohesion of the Union. At the same time, external pressure from Russia and China, developments on the southern periphery, and not least in the United States, is growing. Trump's election not only disintegrates Germany's foreign policy coordinate system, but also turns the liberal international order upside down. Against this background, Stefan Fröhlich argues for a reassessment of Germany's role in Europe and the world in this political essay: Germany's foreign policy is better than its reputation. In recent years, the country has long since broken with numerous taboos and assumed leadership in Europe. This is one of the reasons why the accusations of those who continue to lament German complacency but at the same time evade global leadership and responsibility themselves sound downright cynical. This book is a translation of the original German 1 st edition Das Ende der Selbstfesselung by Stefan Fröhlich, published by Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature in 2019. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors . Europe is in a permanent state of crisis: nationalisms, brexit and seemingly insurmountable differences on issues of migration, reforming the euro zone and improving its global competitiveness are threatening the cohesion of the Union. At the same time, external pressure from Russia and China, developments on the southern periphery, and not least in the United States, is growing. Trump's election not only disintegrates Germany's foreign policy coordinate system, but also turns the liberal international order upside down. Against this background, Stefan Fröhlich argues for a reassessment of Germany's role in Europe and the world in this political essay: Germany's foreign policy is better than its reputation. In recent years, the country has long since broken with numerous taboos and assumed leadership in Europe. This is one of the reasons why the accusations of those who continue to lament German complacency but at the same time evade global leadership and responsibility themselves sound downright cynical. This book is a translation of the original German 1st edition Das Ende der Selbstfesselung by Stefan Fröhlich, published by Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature in 2019. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors. The Author Dr. Stefan Fröhlich is Professor of International Politics and Political Economy at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and teaches at various renowned universities in Germany and abroad. He is equally well known in academia, the public and the media as a proven expert on German foreign policy Prolog Contents 1: The Tiresome Debate about Germany ́s Role in the World: From Overcoming Division to the New German Question No Fear of Germany-The Laborious Development of German Foreign Policy The End of the West and Responsible Power Politics Challenges to German Foreign Policy in a Radically Changed World 2: The Future of the Global Economy and the Euro Area German Trade Surpluses-A Threat to the Global Economy? An Agenda for the Sustainable Improvement of German Competitiveness The Euro Crisis-Germanys Alternative Path to Solidarity 3: Between the Fronts: Conflict and Crisis Management on the Eastern and Southern Flanks of the EU Security in Europe-Russia and the Ukrainian Crisis Breaking of Taboos in German Foreign and Security Policy-The Crises on the Southern Periphery Europe ́s Defense and Balancing Out of Military Power The Refugee Crisis and the Dilemma of the Idea of Humanitarian Intervention 4: Transatlantic and Other Strategic Partnerships: Germany in the Concert of Global System Change ``Taking Fate Into Your Own Hands ́ ́ On the Future of Transatlantic Relations On the Necessary Reassessment of Relations with Russia Why China Affects Us 5: Germany ́s New Foreign Policy Pragmatism Self-Assertion in the New System Competition Has Its Price Pragmatism Does Not Mean Arbitrariness, But Requires Strategic Priorities The End of Self-Bondage-Why the Debate about the German Role Is Out of Date Europe ́s Metamorphosis Arrival Literature Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5