The 2003 Iraq War as a Turning Point in German–American Relations: Political Leadership and Alliance Cohesion

Abstract

The article explores and explains Germany’s pre-emptive ‘No’ to the war in Iraq and argues that the ‘No’ was not a structural break in the relationship with the US, although for many its dramatic consequences appeared as a ‘parting of ways’ of two close allies. With the European Union deeply divided and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization split into two camps, the result was a profound disunity of the West. After the war in Kosovo and the German military contribution to the ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan, there was no chance that the SPD/Green coalition would have been able to put together its own majority for an additional war effort in Iraq. Opposing a perceived US unilateralism was popular and an opportunity to stand up to the Bush administration. On a more fundamental level, Germany reclaimed the right to national sovereignty in spite of its commitment to multilateralism. This self-assertion was a new development for German foreign policy and it will also characterise Germany’s actions in the future. With the arrival of the Trump administration in Washington and its challenge to the liberal world order America created after World War II, the US and Germany could end up on an even more profound collision course.