Image credit: Omer Messinger/Getty Images
February 18, 2019
German Foreign Policy is Stuck in Neutral
Last summer I moved to Berlin. I was excited to escape Washington’s divisive and small-minded politics and focus on someone other than President Donald Trump, who seemed to be permeating every aspect of my life. A year in Berlin, my thinking went, would serve as a much-needed breath of fresh air. No more talking about Trump’s latest tweet at children’s birthday parties. No more circular and heated debates about state of American democracy. In Berlin, I would spend my time on bigger questions of grand strategy. I’d interview Germans and other Europeans grappling with the future of Europe and the future of the rules-based order. I’d attend thought-provoking conferences and debates. I’d be inspired.
Fast forward seven months. I’m not inspired. I’m worried.
Don’t get me wrong. Living in Berlin has been wonderful on many counts. But Berlin’s political stasis in the face of so many profound and, in the view of some, existential questions about Europe’s future is unnerving. So is its inability to craft policy responses to challenges posed by China, Russia, and yes, even the U.S. government. That’s not to say that there is a dearth of fresh thinking across Berlin’s national security community. As in any other national capital, German think tanks, academics, journalists, and industry groups regularly churn out papers full of policy proposals. But moving those ideas from theory to practice often feels insurmountable.
Read the full article in War on the Rocks.
More from CNAS
-
NATO’s Security Guarantees for Ukraine
As NATO prepares for its annual summit in Vilnius this July, one of the biggest topics on the agenda will be how to guarantee long-term security for Ukraine. Given that member...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Liana Fix & Eric Ciaramella
-
Putin’s Shakespearean Demons
Imagine the condition in the heart of Europe today had NATO’s boundaries remained frozen after 1989....
By Robert D. Kaplan
-
Assessing NATO’s Evolving Role
Over the past year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reinvigorated NATO, with the presence of major war on the European continent highlighting the alliance’s importance for co...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Benedetta Berti & David Cattler
-
The View from Berlin: Transatlantic Relations in 2023
To continue our “New Year” series on Brussels Sprouts, we turn to the state of transatlantic relations going into 2023. The past year has demanded extensive coordination betwe...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Carisa Nietsche, Sophia Besch & Wolfgang Ischinger