Partners in Leadership? American Views of the New German Role

Abstract

The German–American relationship has become the pivot in the larger transatlantic partnership. This is the result of both the rise of Germany as a foreign policy actor due to an increase of its power as well as the decline of France and Britain as European powers. As American policy makers reassess the role of Europe in their broader foreign policy, Germany will be seen as a key partner both in Europe and on broader global issues. However there are limits to this partnership and it is likely to be an uneven one.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Stephen F. Szabo is currently a Senior Fellow at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies and Adjunct Lecturer in European Studies at SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. He has published widely on European and German politics and foreign policies, including The Successor Generation: International Perspectives of Postwar Europeans, The Diplomacy of German Unification, Parting Ways: The Crisis in the German-American Relationship, and Germany, Russia and the Rise of Geo-Economics.

Notes

1 For an early elaboration of the concept of Germany as a geo-economic power, see Kundnani (2011).

2 These figures came from the German Chancellery and the White House.

3 For more on the Clinton–Obama relationship on foreign policy see Landler (2016).

4 A June 2016 Pew poll found that 58 per cent of Germans believe having a strong economic relationship with Russia is more important than being tough with Russia on foreign policy disputes (35 per cent). See also, Stokes, Wike, and Poushter (2016, 19).

5 Nearly seven-in-ten Republicans (69 per cent) say the United States is not being tough enough on Russia over Ukraine; only 47 per cent of Democrats agree. Most Democrats (59 per cent) believe TTIP will be good for the country, while only 45 per cent of Republicans support that view. And while 60 per cent of Democrats would like to see Germany play a more active military role in the world, just 51 per cent of Republicans want Germany to take on more of the security burden. The poll done for the German embassy found that while Germany is an important ally in the fight against terrorism, it should do more to combat terrorism, including doing more militarily.

6 Karnitschnig (2016) quotes Josef Joffe saying ‘You might say, America's “special relationship” is with Germany today, not with Britain’.

7 A German diplomat was quoted as saying: ‘We’re not in a position, legally, to join, because our intelligence is so limited in scope’ (quoted in Packe 2014, 61).

8 Obama called Merkel immediately after Brexit results were published, both agreed that the Germany–EU–US relationship is ‘indispensable’ (Obama 2016); Oreskes (Politico) refers to Germany as ‘America’'s real special relationship’ post-Brexit, anticipating that ‘Brexit will expand U.S. reliance on Germany’.