Foreign policy of Angela Merkel
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The foreign policy of the Angela Merkel government has been the
foreign policy of Germany The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) is a Central European country and member of the European Union, G4, G7, the G20, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It maintains ...
when
Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...
was in office as
Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...
from November 2005 to December 2021. During Merkel's chancellorship, Merkel has personally been highly active in the field of the foreign policy. She named Frank-Walter Steinmeier to serve as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009; the office was subsequently held by
Guido Westerwelle Guido Westerwelle (; 27 December 1961 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician who served as Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay person ...
from 2009 to 2013, and again by Steinmeier from 2013. He was succeeded by Sigmar Gabriel in 2017, who was himself succeeded by Heiko Maas in 2018. Merkel has emphasized international cooperation, both in the context of the European Union and NATO. Merkel played a central role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration. Merkel played a crucial role in managing the financial crisis at the European and international level. Merkel has been widely described as the ''de facto'' leader of the European Union throughout her tenure as Chancellor. Merkel has twice been named the world's second most powerful person by '' Forbes'' magazine, the highest ranking ever achieved by a woman. In December 2015, Merkel was named as ''Time'' magazine's
Person of the Year __NOTOC__ Person of the Year or Man of the Year is an award given to an individual by any type of organization. Most often, it is given by a newspaper or other news outlet to annually recognize a public person. Such awards have typically been awa ...
, with the magazine's cover declaring her to be the " Chancellor of the Free World." On 26 March 2014, Merkel became the longest-serving incumbent head of government in the European Union and she is currently the senior G7 leader. In May 2016, Merkel was named the most powerful woman in the world for a record tenth time by ''Forbes''. In 2016 Merkel was described by '' The New York Times'' as "the Liberal West's Last Defender" and by Timothy Garton Ash as "the
leader of the free world The Free World is a propaganda term, primarily used during the Cold War from 1945 to 1991, to refer to the Western Bloc and similar countries. It also more broadly refers to all non-communist and democratic countries. It has traditionally prima ...
." Following the announcement that Merkel will run for a fourth term as Chancellor, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Norbert Röttgen has said that Merkel desires to hold "the liberal order, in the trans-Atlantic area, together" and that "the Chancellor is a cornerstone of hepolitical concept of the West as acting as a global player."


Brazil

Brazil is part of the countries with which Germany maintains a "high level" relationship. In 2013, after the revelation that the Brazilian Presidency and the
German Chancellery The German Chancellery (german: Bundeskanzleramt, , more faithfully translated as ''Federal Chancellery'' or ''Office of the Federal Chancellor'') is an agency serving the executive office of the chancellor of Germany, the head of the federal gov ...
were spied on by the United States intelligence service, Angela Merkel moved closer to Brazil. During the
2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...
, she traveled to Brazil to watch games alongside President Dilma Rousseff, and in August of the following year she returned to the country with a strong delegation of seven ministers and five secretaries of state.


China

In response to the death of
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Liu Xiaobo Liu Xiaobo (; 28 December 1955 – 13 July 2017) was a Chinese writer, literary critic, human rights activist, philosopher and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who called for political reforms and was involved in campaigns to end communist one-par ...
, who died of organ failure while in government custody, Merkel said in a statement that Liu had been a "courageous fighter for civil rights and freedom of expression." In July 2019, the UN ambassadors from 22 nations, including Germany, signed a joint letter to the UNHRC condemning China's mistreatment of the Uyghurs as well as its mistreatment of other minority groups, urging the Chinese government to close the Xinjiang re-education camps.


United States

One of Merkel's priorities was strengthening transatlantic economic relations. She signed the agreement for the Transatlantic Economic Council on 30 April 2007 at the White House. The Council, co-chaired by an EU and a US official, aims at removing barriers to trade in a further integrated transatlantic free-trade area. It was revealed that, beginning in 2002, Merkel's phone has been "on an NSA target list". On July 1, 2013, the
German Foreign Ministry , logo = DEgov-AA-Logo en.svg , logo_width = 260 px , image = Auswaertiges Amt Berlin Eingang.jpg , picture_width = 300px , image_caption = Entrance to the Foreign Office building , headquarters = Werderscher Mark ...
summoned Phil Murphy, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, over allegations that the National Security Agency (NSA) had spied on institutions of the European Union. It was revealed that Germany's BND intelligence service has covertly monitored European defence interests and politicians inside Germany at the request of the NSA. A
German Parliamentary Committee investigating the NSA spying scandal The German Parliamentary Committee investigation of the NSA spying scandal (official title: ''1. Untersuchungsausschuss „NSA“'') was started on March 20, 2014, by the German Parliament in order to investigate the extent and background of fore ...
was set up in 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama described her at the end of 2016 as his "closest international partner" throughout his tenure as President. Obama also said he would vote for Merkel if he could. Obama's farewell visit to Berlin in November 2016 was widely interpreted as the passing of the torch of global liberal leadership to Merkel as Merkel was seen by many as the new standard bearer of liberal democracy since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President. Upon the election of Donald Trump Merkel said that "Germany and America are tied by values of democracy, freedom and respect for the law and human dignity, independent of origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views. I offer the next president of the United States, Donald Trump, close cooperation on the basis of these values." The comment was interpreted as reintegrative shaming. President Obama's final phone call as U.S. President was to Merkel, during which he thanked her for her "strong, courageous, and steady leadership" and expressed "appreciation for their personal friendship." Following the G7 Summit in Italy and the NATO Summit in Brussels, Merkel stated on May 28, 2017 that the US was no longer the reliable partner Europe and Germany had depended on in the past. At an electoral rally in Munich, she said that "We have to know that we must fight for our future on our own, for our destiny as Europeans", which has been interpreted as an unprecedented shift in the German-American transatlantic relationship.


Russia

In 2006, Merkel expressed concern about overreliance on Russian energy, but she received little support from others in Berlin. In June 2017, Merkel criticized the draft of new U.S. sanctions against Russia that target EU–Russia energy projects, including Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.


Middle East and North Africa

Merkel voiced concern over the
2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...
. She stated: "We cannot confuse cause and effect. The starting point is the capture of the Israeli soldiers. It is important that the government in Lebanon, which is on a peaceful path, should be strengthened, but it must be made clear that the capture
f the soldiers F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...
cannot be tolerated. The attacks did not start from the Israeli side, but from Hezbollah's side." Merkel's government has approved multi-billion euro arms export deals with various governments in the MENA region generally perceived as being
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia. the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. In 2016, German opposition parties criticized Germany's defense plan with Saudi Arabia, which has been waging war in Yemen against the Houthis and has been accused of massive human rights violations. On 21 March 2018, Merkel criticized Turkey's invasion of northern Syria: "Despite all justified security interests of Turkey, it's unacceptable what's happening in Afrin, where thousands and thousands of civilians are being pursued, are dying or have to flee."


India

Merkel and Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
made a "Joint Declaration" emphasising the Indo-German strategic partnership in 2006. It turned the focus of future cooperation onto the fields of energy, science and technology, and defence. A similar Declaration, signed during Merkel's visit to India in 2007, noted the substantial progress made in Indo-German relations and set ambitious goals for their development in the future. The relationship with India on the basis of cooperation and partnership was further strengthened with Merkel's visit to India in 2011. At the invitation of the Indian government, the two countries held their first intergovernmental consultations in New Delhi. These consultations set a new standard in the implementation of the strategic partnership, as India became only the third non-European country with which Germany has had this nature of comprehensive consultations. India became the first Asian country to hold a joint cabinet meeting with Germany during Merkel's state visit. The Indian government presented the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for the year 2009 to Merkel. A statement issued by the Government of India stated that the award "recognises her personal devotion and enormous efforts for sustainable and equitable development, for good governance and understanding and for the creation of a world better positioned to handle the emerging challenges of the 21st century."


Refugee crisis of 2015

Germany was affected by the European migrant crisis in 2015 as it became the final destination of choice for many asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East entering the EU. The civil war in Syria was the main cause. Merkel made a highly controversial statement in August 2015: "We will manage it," taken to mean Germany would be able to handle large numbers successfully. The country took in over a million refugees and migrants and developed a quota system which redistributed migrants around its federal states based on their tax income and existing population density. The decision by Merkel to authorize unrestricted entry led to heavy criticism in Germany as well as within Europe. This was a major factor in the rise of the far-right party
Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...
which entered the Bundestag in the 2017 federal election. According to Ludger Pries,Ludger Pries, "'We will Manage It'" p 26.
Merkel's statement to keep Germany's commitment to refugee protection probably gave hope and expectations to refugees. However, it neither originated nor significantly intensified the refugee movement. When Merkel's declaration was made, hundreds of thousands of refugees already were on the trek, and it was just a matter of pragmatic, realist and humanitarian policy not to close national borders. The reasons for choosing Germany changed according to the time when refugees arrived in Germany; but not in the way predicted by all those who blame Merkel and the German government for having caused or at least increased the so-called refugee crisis.


References

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Further reading

* Clark, Claudia. ''Dear Barack: The Extraordinary Partnership of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel'' (2021) * Crossley-Frolick, Katy A. "Domestic Constraints, German Foreign Policy and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding." ''German Politics and Society'' 31.3 (2013): 43-75. * Czuczka, Tony and Alan Crawford. ''Angela Merkel: A Chancellorship Forged in Crisis'' (2013
excerpt
* Dyson, Tom. "German Defence Policy under the Second Merkel Chancellorship." ''German Politics'' 23.4 (2014): 460-476. * Forsberg, Tuomas. "From Ostpolitik to ‘frostpolitik’? Merkel, Putin and German foreign policy towards Russia." ''International Affairs'' 92.1 (2016): 21-42
online
* Gaskarth, Jamie, and Kai Oppermann. "Clashing traditions: German foreign policy in a New Era." ''International Studies Perspectives'' 22.1 (2021): 84-105
online
* Hertner, Isabelle. "Germany's Strategic Narrative of the Eurozone Crisis." ''German Politics & Society'' (2015) 33#1 pp 42–57. * Janes, Jackson. "Merkel 3.0: German foreign policy in the aftermath of the 2013 Bundestag Election." ''German Politics and Society'' 32.3 (2014): 86-97. * Kefferputz, Roderick and Jeremy Stern. "The United States, Germany, and World Order: New Priorities for a Changing Alliance." ''Atlantic Council: Issue Brief'' (2021
online
* Kornelius, Stefan. ''Angela Merkel: The Chancellor and Her World: The Authorized Biography'' (Alma Books, 2014) * Mushaben, Joyce. "Madam Chancellor: Angela Merkel and the triangulation of German foreign policy." ''Georgetown Journal of International Affairs'' (2009): 27-35. * Oppermann, Kai. "National role conceptions, domestic constraints and the new 'normalcy' in German foreign policy: the Eurozone crisis, Libya and beyond." ''German Politics'' 21.4 (2012): 502-519. * Paterson, William E. "Foreign Policy in the Grand Coalition." ''German politics'' 19.3-4 (2010): 497-514. * Qvortrup, Matthew. ''Angela Merkel: Europe's most influential leader'' (2016
excerpt
* Techau, Jan. "The Role of Foreign Policy in the 2009 Campaign and the Black-Yellow Future." ''German Politics and Society'' 28.3 (2010): 176-188. * Wood, Steve. "‘Understanding’ for Russia in Germany: international triangle meets domestic politics." ''Cambridge review of international affairs'' (2020): 1-24. * Yoder, Jennifer A. "An Intersectional Approach to Angela Merkel's Foreign Policy" ''German Politics'' (2011), 20:3, 360-375, DOI:10.1080/09644008.2011.60657 * Yoder, Jennifer A. "From Amity to Enmity: German-Russian Relations in the Post Cold War Period" ''German Politics & Society'' (2015) 33#3pp 49–69. Angela Merkel German foreign policy Merkel, Angela