The culture of restraint or the quest for normality: German and security policy

Abstract

The Second World War and the defeat of country totally shifted Germany's foreign and security posture. The new foreign and security logic was constructed on cooperation rather than competition, on the pursuit of wealth than power, on a quest for integration through transfer of sovereignty than a vain search for autonomy. Germany rested on the foundations of democratic polity and projected the rules of this system onto relations among states. However, following the reunification and the collapse of the Soviet Union, economically giant Germany started to pursue a more independent foreign policy which destructed the image of 'political pigmy' that lived under the security umbrella of the western alliance. This article aims to analyze change and continuity in German foreign and security policy and to identify. Will Europe and the wider international community face a new 'German Question' or has this question been resolved in a peaceful and democratic way?