An Analysis Of Germany’s Military Participation Abroad

After the German reunification of 1990,Germany made a breakthrough in its military involvement abroad as an important part of the "Normalization" of the country.In the early years of reunification,Germany intervened in the Gulf War through "Check Diplomacy," and then made substantial progress with its air strikes in Kosovo.After The “9·11”,Germany became extensively involved in the Middle East within the framework of the United Nations in response to new changes in the counter-terrorism situation.In the Afghanistan war,Germany followed the requirements of international organizations and domestic public opinion,and participated in the military and reconstruction work in Afghanistan on the principle of avoiding acting alone and engaging in dangerous activities.In the Iraq war,Germany demonstrated support for multilateralism,strongly opposing "Unilateralism" involvement in the Iraq war and supporting the reconstruction of Iraq only through the United Nations and other international organizations.After the end of World War II,Germany adhered to the principle of a culture of restraint "not to repeat mistakes" and showed a very cautious attitude toward military involvement abroad.However,with the advancement of Germany’s "normalization" and its economic and political status,as well as the expectations of the international community and allies for Germany to assume international responsibilities,Germany’s "limited military engagement" was gradually accepted by the international community.This period saw an intensification of the game between the German culture of restraint and the principles of multilateralism.Germany’s actions in Afghanistan and Iraq are representative of this process.Both the active participation in the Afghanistan war and the opposition to "Unilateralism" in the Iraq war demonstrate Germany’s more active and autonomous approach to the issue of military engagement abroad.The article examines Germany’s military engagement on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in terms of its position and performance,and motivates the study by looking at the factors behind Germany’s different engagement in two wars.The first chapter describes the limits of German military engagement abroad and the gradual breakthrough of Germany’s culture of restraint toward substantive intervention in the war in the Kosovo region.The second chapter examines Germany’s military operations in Afghanistan,focusing on the three modes of engagement and the principles upheld in the course of the mission,and discusses the implications of Germany’s involvement in Afghanistan for itself.The third chapter discusses Germany’s different approaches to the war in Iraq,in particular Germany’s opposition to U.S."unilateralism" and its involvement in the reconstruction of Iraq through the UN framework.The fourth chapter describes Germany’s position and actions in other wars in the Middle East.It then examines the factors influencing Germany’s military engagement abroad,both externally and internally,with a factual assessment,and summarizes the characteristics that Germany embodies.Constructivism in international relations theory emphasizes the important role played by the ideological structures of political actors in their manner of behavior and goal setting,specifically that international politics is constructed by social value norms,identities,and the ideological formations of political actors.The play between the culture of restraint and the principle of multilateralism has influenced German behavior patterns at different times and has had different effects on German military engagement abroad.