The Art of Building Consensus, and Avoiding Controversy

Abstract

Strategic Dilemmas and the Evolution of German Foreign Policy since Unification. By Jeffery S. Lantis Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002. 248 pp., $64.95 (ISBN: 0-275-97751-X). Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's critical remarks on the political failings of “old Europe” have once again underlined the increasing alienation in transatlantic and especially German–US relations. Chancellor Schroeder's open criticism of the Bush Administration's Iraq policies leaves no doubt that Germany's willingness to follow US leadership can no longer be taken for granted by Washington. The days of habitual loyalty are gone. Apparently, Berlin has become as assertive as realist scholars had boldly predicted it would once the unified country had rid itself of the military, mental, and institutional constraints of Cold War Europe. With Bundeswehr forces deployed from Afghanistan to Macedonia, unified Germany may be perceived as being on the verge of reassuming its traditional role as one of the continent's great powers. Thus, the question of whether systemic challenges and opportunities will prevail over Civilian Power norms (Harnisch and Maull 2001), transforming Germany into a much less constrained actor that pursues above all its national interests, has been raised once again. Against this background, studying the recent shifts and trends in German foreign policy seems worthwhile for both IR scholars and foreign policy practitioners. As its title implies, Jeffrey Lantis' Strategic Dilemmas and the Evolution of German Foreign Policy since Unification attempts to probe these shifts and trends …