Idealpolitik or Realpolitik: Germany’s new old foreign policy debate

A feature of the ongoing search for Germany’s new lead role in European affairs is the seemingly endless debate about a value-based versus an interest-based foreign policy. Since the 1970s, two schools of thinking have clashed in political debates, policy circles and the academia. One argues that the foreign policy of Germany ought to project the country’s values and norms beyond its borders, the other maintains that foreign policy must put national interest first, seek to balance or tame opposing power and to control the externalities of conflict.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: German leaders juggle foreign policy crises http://www.europeansources.info/record/note-from-berlin-german-leaders-juggle-foreign-policy-crises/

ESO: Background information: A Fresh Look at German Foreign Policy: The Next Six Decades Celebration marks the DGAP’s 60th anniversary and the conclusion of the Foreign Ministry’s 'Review 2014' project http://www.europeansources.info/record/a-fresh-look-at-german-foreign-policy-the-next-six-decadescelebration-marks-the-dgaps-60th-anniversary-and-the-conclusion-of-the-foreign-ministrys-review-2014-project/

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