Since the end of World War II, Germany's foreign policy and
economic well-being were built on three core pillars: (i) a strong
transatlantic alliance and friendship, (ii) stable and influential
international institutions and organizations, such as first and
foremost, the EU, but also others such as the UN and GATT, and,
finally, (iii) the rule of law. Each of these pillars has suffered
significant cracks in the last years requiring a fundamental
re-assessment of Germany's place in the world and the way the
world's fourth largest economy should deal with its friends,
partners, contenders and challengers. A few recent observations
highlight the urgency of the issue:
- The transatlantic alliance and
friendship has been eroding over many years. A recent Civey study
conducted for the think tank Atlantic-Brücke showed that 57.6%
of Germans prefer a "greater distance" to the U.S., 84.6%
of the 5,000 persons polled by Civey described the German-American
relationship as
