Germany is struggling to find its place in the international community. Somehow, this statement has been true for as long as I can remember. As someone who grew up in the 1990s and started working on German foreign and defence policy in the early 2010s, I have heard that “Germany is on its way to becoming a normal country” or “Germany is carving out its niche in international relations” more often than I care to admit.
Yet, despite reassurances to the contrary from Berlin, Germany is stuck in a holding pattern. Seventy-three years after the end of the second world war, and twenty-eight years after German reunification, it remains unclear what role Germany wants to and can play internationally.
Let me apply the clue bat, as I did (again) in this post about the sad state of Germany's military:
I keep reading that the Germans hate their militaristic past so much that they don't want to fight.
Let's try applying the clue bat to Germany's collective skull on this issue.
Conquering and setting up death camps under the shield of a powerful military? That's bad. By all means, don't do that.
Having a military capable of fighting death cult enemies or stopping the Russians from moving west? Well, that's a good thing. Try doing that.
Seriously, Germany should find its place in the international community by fighting death cult jihadis and being strong enough to help NATO stop the Russians from taking NATO territory.
Twenty-eight years after unification and 73 years after the end of World War II, it is unclear why Germany is still unclear on the concept.
On the bright side, according to the article, Germany now has a defense blog. So they've got that going for them, eh?
