In case you haven’t noticed, the latest WPR Feature Issue just went live. It’s a multifaceted look at, Germany, the great power that somehow isn’t. I’ve got a hunch this is going to be one of those timely features, not necessarily in media cycle as measured by days or months, but in historical cycles as measured in years and decades.
For a variety of historical and political reasons, many of them clear and others less obvious, Germany has carved out a unique place for itself in the international arena, emphasizing non-militarism and multilateralism. But with the very multilateral order on which German foreign policy is rooted undergoing dramatic changes, Europe and the U.S. are increasingly looking for more leadership out of Berlin, perhaps more than Berlin is willing to shoulder. Just how that “tug of love” plays could have enormous implications for the global order moving forward out of the current economic crisis.
The feature page is here. Matthias Karádi on German national identityand multilateralism is here. Max Bergmann on Germany’s Russia policy is here. And Regina Karp on challenges to Germany’s domestic foreign policy consensus is here. (All are sub. req., but you can sign up for a free four-month trial with no obligation.)
On a related note, the May/June edition of WPR’s digital journal just went live as well. Subscribers can access it here, and everyone else can take a look at a preview here. The digital journal collects all of our premium subscription content in one convenient package, along with our house specialty, the Strategic Posture Review, not available elsewhere. This issue’s SPR takes a look at Australia, which just recently issued its Defense White Paper. It’s a subject that is very revealing, in terms of how U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific are reacting to shifts in U.S. military posture, and one that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention in the U.S. media. I encourage you all to take a look.