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Foreign relations of Germany

The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) is a Central European country and member of the European Union, G4, G7, the G20, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It maintains a network of 229 diplomatic missions abroad and holds relations with more than 190 countries. As one of the world's leading industrialized countries it is recognized as a major power in European and global affairs.

Primary institutions and actors[edit]

Federal Cabinet[edit]

The three cabinet-level ministries responsible for guiding Germany's foreign policy are the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and the Federal Foreign Office. In practice, most German federal departments play some role in shaping foreign policy in the sense that there are few policy areas left that remain outside of international jurisdiction. The bylaws of the Federal Cabinet (as delineated in Germany's Basic Law), however, assign the Federal Foreign Office a coordinating function. Accordingly, other ministries may only invite foreign guests or participate in treaty negotiations with the approval of the Federal Foreign Office.

Bundestag[edit]

With respect to foreign policy, the Bundestag acts in a supervisory capacity. Each of its committees – most notably the foreign relations committee – oversees the country's foreign policy. The consent of the Bundestag (and insofar as Länder are impacted, the Bundesrat) is required to ratify foreign treaties. If a treaty legislation passes first reading, it is referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, which is capable of delaying ratification and prejudice decision through its report to the Bundestag.[1]


In 1994, a full EU Committee was also created for the purpose of addressing the large flow of EU-related topics and legislation. Also, the committee has the mandate to speak on behalf of the Bundestag and represent it when deciding an EU policy position.[2] A case in point was the committee's involvement regarding the European Union's eastern enlargement wherein the Committee on Foreign Affairs is responsible for relations with ECE states while the EU Committee is tasked with the negotiations.[2]

NGOs[edit]

There is a raft of NGOs in Germany that engage foreign policy issues. These NGOs include think-tanks (German Council on Foreign Relations), single-issue lobbying organizations (Amnesty International), as well as other organizations that promote stronger bilateral ties between Germany and other countries (Atlantic Bridge). While the budgets and methods of NGOs are distinct, the overarching goal to persuade decision-makers to the wisdom of their own views is a shared one. In 2004, a new German governance framework, particularly on foreign and security policy areas, emerged where NGOs are integrated into actual policymaking.[3] The idea is that the cooperation between state and civil society groups increases the quality of conflict resolution, development cooperation and humanitarian aid for fragile states. The framework seeks to benefit from the expertise of the NGOs in exchange for these groups to have a chance for influencing foreign policy.[3]

Global initiatives[edit]

Humanitarian aid[edit]

Germany is the largest net contributor to the United Nations and has several development agencies working in Africa and the Middle East. The development policy of the Federal Republic of Germany is an independent area of German foreign policy. It is formulated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and carried out by the implementing organisations. The German government sees development policy as a joint responsibility of the international community.[8] It is the world's third biggest aid donor after the United States and France.[9] Germany spent 0.37 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on development, which is below the government's target of increasing aid to 0.51 per cent of GDP by 2010. The international target of 0.7% of GNP would have not been reached either.

Maastricht Treaty

Anglo-German naval arms race

Human rights in Germany

List of diplomatic missions in Germany

List of diplomatic missions of Germany

Security issues in Germany

Visa requirements for German citizens

Germany-Israel relations

Bark, Dennis L., and David R. Gress. A History of West Germany. Vol. 1: From Shadow to Substance, 1945–1963. Vol. 2: Democracy and Its Discontents, 1963–1991 (1993), the standard scholarly history

Blumenau, Bernhard, 'German Foreign Policy and the 'German Problem' During and After the Cold War: Changes and Continuities'. in: B Blumenau, J Hanhimäki & B Zanchetta (eds), New Perspectives on the End of the Cold War: Unexpected Transformations? Ch. 5. London: Routledge, 2018.  9781138731349 .

ISBN

Brandenburg, Erich. From Bismarck to the World War: A History of German Foreign Policy 1870-1914 (1927) .

online

Buse, Dieter K., and Juergen C. Doerr, eds. Modern Germany: an encyclopedia of history, people and culture, 1871-1990 (2 vol. Garland, 1998).

Clark, Claudia. Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel (2021)

Cole, Alistair. Franco-German Relations (2000)

Feldman, Lily Gardner. Germany's Foreign Policy of Reconciliation: From Enmity to Amity (Rowman & Littlefield; 2012) 393 pages; on German relations with France, Israel, Poland, and Czechoslovakia/the Czech Republic.

excerpt

Forsberg, Tuomas. "From Ostpolitik to ‘frostpolitik’? Merkel, Putin and German foreign policy towards Russia." International Affairs 92.1 (2016): 21-42.

online

Gaskarth, Jamie, and Kai Oppermann. "Clashing traditions: German foreign policy in a New Era." International Studies Perspectives 22.1 (2021): 84-105.

online

Geiss, Imanuel. German foreign policy, 1871–1914 (1976)

Haftendorn, Helga. German Foreign Policy Since 1945 (2006), 441pp

Hanrieder, Wolfram F. Germany, America, Europe: Forty Years of German Foreign Policy (1991)

Heuser, Beatrice. NATO, Britain, France & the FRG: Nuclear Strategies & Forces for Europe, 1949-2000 (1997) 256pp

Hewitson, Mark. "Germany and France before the First World War: a reassessment of Wilhelmine foreign policy." English Historical Review 115.462 (2000): 570–606.

in JSTOR

Junker, Detlef, ed. The United States and Germany in the Era of the Cold War (2 vol 2004), 150 short essays by scholars covering 1945–1990 ; excerpt and text search vol 2

excerpt and text search vol 1

Kefferputz, Roderick and Jeremy Stern. "The United States, Germany, and World Order: New Priorities for a Changing Alliance." Atlantic Council: Issue Brief (2021)

online

Kimmich, Christoph. German Foreign Policy 1918-1945: A Guide to Research and Research Materials (2nd ed. Scholarly Resources, 1991) 264 pp.

Leitz, Christian. Nazi Foreign Policy, 1933-1941: The Road to Global War (2004)

Maulucci Jr., Thomas W. Adenauer's Foreign Office: West German Diplomacy in the Shadow of the Third Reich (2012)

excerpt

Oppermann, Kai. "National role conceptions, domestic constraints and the new 'normalcy' in German foreign policy: the Eurozone crisis, Libya and beyond." German Politics; 21.4 (2012): 502-519.

Paterson, William E. "Foreign Policy in the Grand Coalition." German politics 19.3-4 (2010): 497-514.

Papayoanou, Paul A. "Interdependence, institutions, and the balance of power: Britain, Germany, and World War I." International Security 20.4 (1996): 42–76.

Schwarz, Hans-Peter. Konrad Adenauer: A German Politician and Statesman in a Period of War, Revolution and Reconstruction (2 vol 1995) .

excerpt and text search vol 2

Schmitt, Bernadotte E. "Triple Alliance and Triple Entente, 1902-1914." American Historical Review 29.3 (1924): 449–473.

in JSTOR

Sontag, Raymond James. Germany and England: Background of Conflict, 1848-1898 (1938)

Spang, Christian W. and Rolf-Harald Wippich, eds. Japanese-German Relations, 1895-1945: War, Diplomacy and Public Opinion (2006)

Weinberg, Gerhard L. The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany (2 vol, 1970–80).

Wright, Jonathan. Germany and the Origins of the Second World War (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007) 223pp.

online review

Young, William. German Diplomatic Relations 1871-1945: The Wilhelmstrasse and the Formulation of Foreign Policy (2006); how the foreign ministry shaped policy

German -Bashing and the Breakup of Yugoslavia, ("The Donald W. Treadgold Papers in Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, nº 16, March 1998). University of Washington: HMJ School of International Studies

The German Economy in the New Europe

EU Enlargement and Transatlantic Relations

. Die Außenpolitik der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Normen, Akteure, Entscheidungen. 2. Auflage. München: Oldenbourg, 2005 ISBN 3-486-57766-2.

Bierling, Stephan

von Bredow, Wilfried. Die Außenpolitik der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Eine Einführung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2006  3-531-13618-6.

ISBN

Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations

Auswärtiges Amt

AICGS American Institute for Contemporary German Studies

SWP German Institute for International and Security Affairs