Hegemon with a Guilty Conscience

The Objective of Foreign Policy

The German Green Party-affiliated Heinrich Böll Foundation is seeking wider public approbation for the Germany-predominated EU with its "Europa Atlas." This brochure is a joint project produced by the foundation, together with the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the German-language edition of the Le Monde Diplomatique monthly. The authors are mainly from the West German foreign policy establishment - two of whom were among the co-authors of a strategy paper, last fall, that explicitly called on Germany to provide more "leadership" in global policy making.[1] The "Europa Atlas," which evidently is to be used in school classrooms, deals - in 52 richly illustrated pages - with numerous aspects of politics and society in EU member countries, including diverse key "green" issues (renewable energy, gender equality, struggle against rightwing extremism, "fair" global trade, protection of privacy, etc.). The conveyance of the main objective of Berlin's foreign policy described in the above mentioned strategy paper published in the fall of 2013, is embedded within these themes.

More Leadership

Sympathy for more German "leadership" in the EU is discernable throughout the "Europa Atlas." The Federal Republic of Germany must "assume more responsibilities and duties - and clearly explain the exact reasons why to the population," according to the brochure. "In two world wars" Germany had "united against itself the majority of the continent's countries into a consolidated power." However, today, "the other EU powers" are demanding "more leadership and initiative from Germany." "Europe" is "indispensible for Germany - and vice versa." The Federal Republic of Germany "predominates," for example, "the EU's austerity policy as its pacemaker." But otherwise, "the German society and the policy makers ... still have not overcome their guilt complex," and therefore vacillate "between hubris and humility," the text continues. "Germany must respond to the accusations that it would really prefer being transformed into a sort of larger Switzerland." German public opinion still does not accept "the role of being a 'benevolent hegemon,' who fills Europe's momentary economic and political power vacuum." At least the German President has taken up the issue: Joachim Gauck "opened the 50th Munich Security Conference" in January, with the summons, Germany must "take on more global responsibility."[2]

Global Clout

In addition, the "Europa Atlas" turns its focus on the EU, as an instrument of an offensive global policy. "The argument sounds convincing," writes the brochure that, "with a unified presence, the European Union could have political clout that the individual member countries would not be able to muster on the global stage." But, the EU stands divided, "the Union's budget for military measures is ... small and the arms industry fragmented." "At the same time, national defense budgets are shrinking."[3] Even though over he past ten years, "20,000 European soldiers have been deployed outside the EU," "11 of the current 17 operations, entail contingents of less than 200 personnel. Missions of this size are usually seen as symbolic actions." Larger interventions are still being waged "within the NATO framework." "Security policy is not very high on the agenda," says the Böll Foundation brochure, "even though the Balkans and North Africa are two crisis areas directly at the EU's borders." Promoting stronger interference, the brochure explains that "a more precise stipulation of EU responsibilities" in "crisis areas" is "still needed" - for example "in Syria, Central Africa and Ukraine."

Fascism? "More likely by Putin"

The fact that plans for an intensified German-EU interference outside of the EU's borders are linked to domestic measures, can be clearly seen in the Böll Foundation's activities in Ukraine. The foundation is actively playing down criticism of the influence of fascist forces in Kiev. This criticism would be capable of weakening Berlin's support for interventions in Ukraine. Even before the Ukrainian government was overthrown - on the same day as Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met publicly with the fascist leader Oleh Tiahnybok,[4] - the Böll Foundation published a statement signed by a list of scholars, explicitly defending "Euromaidan" against all criticism that fascist forces are involved to a relevant extent. "The country's instable situation" engenders "any number of destructive and contradictory persuasions," the paper apologetically declares. "Support of fundamentalism, ethnocentrism and ultra-nationalism" has "sometimes much more to do with the persisting confusion and daily anxieties of the ... people, than it has with a more profound conviction." Critics should be "careful" not to furnish "Moscow rhetorical ammunition for its fight."[5] In another statement published by the Böll Foundation, one of the signatory scholars objected a few weeks later - by this time, Svoboda had been given ministerial posts in the putsch regime - that it would be inappropriate to refer to that party as fascist. He alleged that "the ideas and methods used by Putin are more likely to resemble those of the Third Reich."[6]

Opposition? Simply Outlaw it

Rebecca Harms, the Green's top candidate in the European Parliamentary elections, is a good example of to what extremes, even those in the Green Party's entourage, are willing to go in domestic policy, to ensure German intervention. In March, Harms, who recently alleged that the Svoboda supporters on the Maidan, had mainly been engaged in "self-defense,"[7] attempted simply to outlaw criticism of German interference in Ukraine's affairs. She announced that she saw former Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder's criticism of the German - EU Ukraine policy as "part of a campaign," intended to win "more acceptance for Putin." This is why she felt called upon to table a resolution to the European Parliament saying that the Parliament "regrets" Schroeder's statements and "reiterates" that the former German Chancellor "should make no public statements on the subject of Russia."[8] In the Ukraine, there have now been many parallel actions to her attempt to subvert the right of freedom of speech - which the European Parliament had rebuffed, to her astonishment. Junta president, Oleksandr Turchynov, directed his Minister of Justice to take steps for banning the Communist Party, while presidential candidate Oleh Lyashko is even demanding that the "Party of Regions" be outlawed. It is not yet known, whether the Green's top candidate will also qualify criticisms of these demands to subvert Ukraine's fundamental democratic rights, as a "campaign to win more acceptance for Putin" and again threaten to outlaw freedom of speech.

[1] Es handelt sich um Ulrike Guérot und Daniela Schwarzer. See The Re-Evaluation of German Foreign Policy.
[2] "Starkes Deutschland mit schwacher Verantwortung". Europa-Atlas. Daten und Fakten über den Kontinent. www.boell.de. See Der Weltordnungsrahmen.
[3] "Globale Einsätze, lieber zivil". Europa-Atlas. Daten und Fakten über den Kontinent. www.boell.de.
[4] See Vom Stigma befreit.
[5] Euromaidan: Keine extremistische, sondern freiheitliche Massenbewegung. www.boell.de 20.02.2014.
[6] Andreas Umland: Sind die rechtsradikalen Minister der ukrainischen Regierung "Faschisten"? www.boell.de 28.03.2014.
[7] Joschka weiß auch nicht so recht. www.zeit.de 20.05.2014.
[8] See The Free World.