Challenges for shaping a new international order for Germany’s policy towards Russia in the second decade of the 21st century

Abstract

The article addresses an important and complex problem concerning the analysis of the implications of shaping a new international order for Germany’s policy towards Russia.

It consists of three parts:

1. General tendencies of German research on changes in the international order,
2. The essence of the new German policy strategy vis-à-vis Russia,
3. Challenges for the implementation of Germany’s policy towards Russia.

As the leading EU country with extensive global interests, Germany – being the fourth global economy – in the 21st century benefited largely from the achievements of globalization and the international neoliberal order with the dominant role of the United States. In this context, cooperation with Russia as a strategic partner was of key importance to Germany. It was curtailed after Russia’s transition to a policy of explicit aggression against Ukraine in 2014 (annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in Donbas), thus undermining the existing international order. As a consequence of imposing sanctions on Russia – by the USA, NATO countries and the EU – the Kremlin’s leadership team headed by W. Putin made a shift towards deepening cooperation with China, aiming at weakening US influence and building a competitive multilateral order. Tensions and difficulties in transatlantic relations against the background of “America first” policy of the new US president D. Trump from the beginning of 2017 prompted Germany to maintain relations with Russia and China in a bilateral and multilateral dimension.