Review 2014 – A Fresh Look at German Foreign Policy

19
THE EXPERTS’ DEBATE:
CHALLENGES TO GERMAN FOREIGN POLICY
It was an invitation to criticism and controversy:
“What is wrong with German foreign
policy? And what needs to be changed?”
In February 2014, Frank-Walter Steinmeier
wrote to more than 50 prominent experts in
Germany and abroad, asking them for their
views on Germany’s international activities.
The question astonished some veteran diplomats:
Do we really need this? they wondered.
The experts, by contrast, were happy to pick
up the ball. “Your self-critical question what
is wrong with German foreign policy is itself
“GLOBALISATION IS BRINGING THE WORLD
EVER CLOSER TOGETHER. SO EVENTS
ELSEWHERE CANNOT BE A MATTER OF
INDIFFERENCE TO US. THE DRIVERS
OF CONFLICT ARE WELL KNOWN: THE
COLLAPSE OF STATE STRUCTURES,
SCARCITY OF RESOURCES, ORGANISED
CRIME, TERRORISM, MIGRATION, RELIGIOUS
CONFRONTATION.”
Almut Wieland-Karimi · Centre for International
Peace Operations, Berlin
a fine example of what is right with German
foreign policy”, wrote Oxford Professor Timothy
Garton Ash in his response to Steinmeier.
Since summer 2014, all of the experts’ answers
have been presented on the “Review 2014”
website, with analysis and comments. This is
perhaps the first time that a foreign ministry
itself has invited a critical appraisal of its
policies, then made it available to the public
(the authors are listed in an annex to this
publication). Experts from Germany, from our
partner countries, and from the new powers in
the world have articulated their expectations
and criticism, thereby sparking numerous
comments and blog posts from expert circles
and civil society.
The increased incidence of international conflicts
and crises in the past year has strengthened
public interest in German foreign policy
and sparked many discussions. But this was
often a matter of evaluating individual events
rather than appraising their significance to
our country’s framework of foreign policy
interests. This framework has become shaky
through the great international power shifts
of the past decade, and now must be anchored
and aligned anew – which is something a
controversial public debate makes possible.
“GERMANY IS A KEY DIPLOMATIC PLAYER
IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD. IT MUST
FOCUS ON EMERGING GEOPOLITICAL TRENDS
AND FAULT LINES TO DEAL WITH BOTH THE
OPPORTUNITIES AND THE RISKS.”
Brahma Chellaney · Centre for Policy Research,
New Delhi
The challenges for German foreign policy
that the experts have identified are numerous.
Global power shifts are the starting point for
most of the experts’ contributions: as emerging
states are changing the international system,
the importance of the “West” is declining.
But the role of states themselves is changing in
foreign policy in light of the growing significance
of civil society and private business
players on the international stage.
Germany is more globally interconnected than
just about any other country in the world; this
means that changes to the international system
affect it all the more. It is clear to the experts
that Germany must keep a watchful eye
on geopolitical developments, analyse them
and weigh them against its own interests,
REVIEW PHASE 1 · THE EXPERTS