German Security Policy After Reunification

Germany has historically played a key role on the European stage.In the early 1990 s,the Cold War ended and Germany reunified.Under this historical background,“civilian power” emerged as the theory guiding the orientation of Germany’s national role and the direction of foreign policy.The theory is influenced by the “Restraint Culture” and reflects Germany’s reflection and exploration of the international situation and foreign policy.It belongs to the role analysis model of constructivism in theory.Since its birth,the theory of “civilian power” has been used exclusively to describe German foreign policy.This article first sorts out the emergence,core elements and development of the“civilian power” theory.“Civilian power” can be used to refer not only to an actor,but also to the means by which an actor achieves its foreign policy goals.After Professor Maull proposed the concept of “civilian power”,he gained wide recognition in Germany.German scholars conducted further research and development on this theory.After the end of the Cold War the German security environment was improved.However,while the traditional security threats were reduced,the various contradictions that were masked during the Cold War gradually emerged.Especially after entering the21 st century,Germany is facing more and more non-traditional security threats,such as refugee crisis,international terrorism,environment and climate change and epidemic.This article attempts to analyze German security policy after reunification with the diplomatic role theory-“civilian power”,and analyzes the degree of internalization of the role in German security policy from the perspective of security policy development and practice.The analysis of the German government’s “Coalition Agreement” and “Defense White Paper” and other security policy texts shows that the basic concepts and ideas of the German security policy are continuous and changeable over time.Especially since Merkel’s third term in 2013,German security policy has become increasingly active.The choice of whether to participate in overseas military operations shows the contradictions and entanglements in the German government’s decision.The German government’s security decisions are affected by various internal and external factors.During the Kohl government,Germany only provided material and economic assistance to the coalition forces during the Gulf War.The Kosovo War during the Schroder administration was the first time German armed forces directly participated in military operations since World War II;Subsequently,Germany also participated in the US-led war against terrorism in Afghanistan;However,during the Iraq war,Germany resolutely refused to participate in military operations.During the Merkel government,in the Libyan crisis and the Syrian crisis,the German government took a very cautious attitude towards overseas military operations;In the Ukrainian crisis,Germany actively sought to resolve the conflict through diplomatic and political means,and played a leading role in the process of conflict resolution.Overall,the German security policy affected by “civilian power” relies on multilateral cooperation mechanisms;Germany pursues a leadership role in Europe and some major international security issues,and participates in the construction of international security;in addition,Germany pays attention to promoting Western common values in security practices;when advocating for overseas conflicts,Germany advocates the preferential use of political means to promote negotiations between the parties.Military means are the last means after the failure of diplomatic means and must be used within the framework of legitimacy.However,under the requirement of the role of“civilian power”,German security policy also faces some difficulties,first of all,the contradiction between “military restraint” and “active action”.it is a challenge for German government to grasp the balance between “military restraint” and “active action”;secondly,the contradiction between values and national interests in German security policy is sometimes difficult to coordinate,and the German government are looking for a balance between values and national interests.Finally,the theory of “civilian power” has its own limitations.Despite the dilemma,on the whole,Germany is still striving to approach the ideal standard of “civilian power” in the formulation and practice of security policies.Germany’s security policy and security practices have not completely shaken off the influence of “restraint culture” and still conform to the characteristics of “civilian power”.But Germany’s security strategies and methods are gradually changing.Germany is increasingly emphasizing that it must become an important force in the construction of a global security system,take responsibility internationally;Germany’s security practice in dealing with overseas conflicts gradually changed from passive to active,and Germany became more and more autonomous in responding to international conflicts.