- 著者
-
森井 裕一
- 出版者
- JAPAN ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- 雑誌
- 国際政治 (ISSN:04542215)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.2005, no.140, pp.1-18,L5, 2005-03-19 (Released:2010-09-01)
- 参考文献数
- 41
Germany's foreign policy has been characterized by continuity since its fundamental course was defined by the Federal Republic's first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer. Even unification in 1990 did not have much impact on the continuity of both foreign policy and European integration policy. The transatlantic alliance (NATO) and the European integration (EU) have remained the basic pillars of the Federal Republic's foreign policy. It was imperative that Germany embed itself in both NATO and the EU.With the end of the cold war the security environment in Europe drastically changed: the meaning of security changed from territorial defense to crisis management. Accordingly the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) of the EU developed rapidly in the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The German federal government led by Chancellor Schröder and foreign minister Fischer continued its commitment to the transatlantic alliance and to the further development of European integration. Since the federal election of 2002, however, the Iraq war has overshadowed the German-U. S. relationship.This article analyzes the issue of continuity and change in German foreign policy within this new security environment. The first part of the article outlines the course of German foreign policy since the end of the Cold War, focusing especially on the problem of using the defense force, the Bundeswehr. In the second part, using the case of the 2002 federal election, the entanglement of domestic politics and foreign policy is discussed. In the third part, the new characteristics of current foreign policy are discussed. The debates over the “German Way” and “Civilian Power” in foreign policy are examined in order to explain both continuity and change in the transatlantic relations. German policy toward the institutional development of the EU and European security policy is also discussed.The red-green government led by Schröder/Fischer introduced a new style to German foreign policy with its more direct and self-confident approach. Ongoing economic globalization and the developing EU are both generating change within German foreign policy. Nonetheless, the multilateralism of German foreign policy will not change. For Germany, the use of the UN, OSCE and EU remains the fundamental basis for its policy, even though Germany is increasingly asserting its own interests and preferred methods in those organizations. Germany's desire to promote world stability through civilian methods, for example, are well-suited to an approach that works through multilateral institutions. At the same time, even though the European security environment has changed, the U. S. A. remains the most important security partner for Germany. The transatlantic relationship remains inevitable for Germany's security and economy. Germany has to balance its key transatlantic relationship with the demands of European integration.