Values Slide From Top of Merkel's List

Judy Dempsey Op-Ed November 26, 2012 New York Times

Summary

In her first term as chancellor, Angela Merkel put values at the top of her agenda. Now, her first priority is the euro crisis and Germany's economic position.

Related Topics

Eurozone Crisis

Add a comment

When Angela Merkel became chancellor in November 2005, she decided to focus on foreign policy. That was unusual. Most German leaders tend to concentrate on domestic issues during their first term in office.

Ms. Merkel moved quickly to rebalance German foreign policy by rebuilding Germany’s relations with Washington and Warsaw. Her predecessor, the Social Democrat Gerhard Schröder, had concentrated on forging very close economic and business ties with Russia and China, at the expense of the trans-Atlantic relationship. Mr. Schröder’s vocal opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq led to a chill between Washington and Berlin. His particularly close friendship with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia damaged German relations with Eastern Europe.

Dempsey is a nonresident senior associate at Carnegie Europe and editor in chief of <em>Strategic Europe</em>. She is also a columnist for the <em>International Herald Tribune</em>.

Judy Dempsey

Nonresident Senior Associate
Carnegie Europe
Editor in chief
Strategic Europe

More from this author...

@Judy_Dempsey

But Ms. Merkel did something else during her first term: She put values at the top of her agenda.

Whether she was in Russia, China or the United States, she spoke openly about defending human rights and press freedom and against torture and the U.S. detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. She won praise from civil liberties organizations.

Seven years later, as Ms. Merkel plans her re-election bid, due in 10 months’ time, analysts say she is putting interests before values. “Except for her harsh criticism of Putin, Merkel is much milder about speaking out about human rights,” said Hugh Williamson, director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch. “She is distracted by the euro crisis and its impact on the German economy. But does that mean she has to be mute over human rights?”

The euro crisis has affected German foreign policy in two ways.

First, Berlin is no longer making any effort to discuss the future of European security and military policy. “It is not on the agenda. But whose agenda is it on?” said Henrik Heidenkamp, a military expert at the Royal United Services Institute, a research group in London.

Astonishingly, said Graham Muir, head of policy and planning at the European Defense Agency, E.U. leaders have not discussed security and military issues for seven years. “The last time was at Hampton Court during the U.K. presidency in 2005. Ever since, there has not been a substantive discussion at summit level,” he added. The agency’s role is to encourage member states to cooperate on military planning and share their capabilities instead of duplicating them.

But E.U. leaders’ preoccupations with the global financial crisis and then the euro crisis are not the only reasons for their reluctance to discuss security and the military.

Any serious debate about the issue would mean having to agree about values and interests, and how to implement them, analysts say.

The first time the European Union attempted to set out a security strategy was in 2003. Despite some attempts to write a new one in 2007, Europe is still left without a security doctrine of any value. This is despite the extraordinary changes sweeping across the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and despite the Union being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year.

The second way in which the euro crisis has affected Ms. Merkel’s foreign policy is her determination to protect German jobs. That means ensuring that German industry has access, for example, to rare earth metals that are essential components for the renewable energy sector and for electric cars.

China produces nearly 95 percent of the world’s rare earth metals. Kazakhstan and Mongolia have sizable deposits, too. Over the past few years, Ms. Merkel has made big efforts to protect the German economy and its booming export sector by visiting or hosting the leaders of undemocratic and authoritarian countries.

Which Western leader wouldn’t do the same, given the same kind of industrial base?

Ms. Merkel has raised human rights issues with all these countries, but her interventions lack the fervor of her first term. “The economic and fiscal pressures are pushing aside values,” Mr. Heidenkamp said. “They have not vanished as such. Realpolitik has come into play.”

What this means is that until the next German elections, Ms. Merkel will tread a cautious foreign policy path, careful to protect jobs and exports.

“We can only hope that if she is re-elected, she will place values once again on top of her agenda,” said Mr. Williamson of Human Rights Watch. “It matters for Germany’s reputation, especially given its global economic presence.”

It also matters for the European Union. It can do little without German support.

This article originally appeared in the New York Times.

Comments

Comment Policy

Report Abuse

Source: http://carnegieeurope.eu/2012/11/26/values-slide-from-top-of-merkel-s-list/evrd

More from The Global Think Tank

Germany Shirks the Big Issue: A Security Strategy

Summary Germany’s European allies in NATO, the United States, and Germany watchers have long criticized Berlin for its intellectual distaste for discussing something as fundamental as strategy. More >

Germany’s Slow Train to Poland

Summary With German backing, a new EU budget should support the physical integration of Eastern and Western Europe. It is long overdue. More >

American Interest

Germany and Russia: The End of Ostpolitik?

Summary Until recently, German-Russian relations were viewed as a model bilateral relationship. However, public opinion in Germany has grown increasingly critical of Vladimir Putin’s regime, and the German leadership can’t ignore this. More >

September 26, 2012 Brussels

The Big Three in EU Foreign Policy

Summary As the EU struggles with the ongoing euro crisis, the attitude of the "big three" will crucially influence the future scope and direction of its role in international relations. More >

March 27, 2012 Brussels

Germany: Making or Breaking Europe?

Summary Germany has thus far taken the lead in bankrolling and negotiating Europe’s bailout funds, but it remains to be seen if Berlin will play a similar role in tackling tough political reforms as the balance of power in Europe continues to shift. More >

Twitter

@Carnegie_Europe

@Carnegie_Europe

In Fact

70%

of oil consumed in the United States

is for the transportation sector.

20%

of Chechnya’s pre-1994 population

has fled to different parts of the world.

58%

of oil consumed in China

was from foreign sources in 2012.

million cases pending

in India’s judicial system.

million people killed

in Cold War conflicts.

18%

of the U.S. economy

is consumed by healthcare.

$536

billion in goods and services

traded between the United States and China in 2012.

$100

billion in foreign investment and oil revenue

have been lost by Iran because of its nuclear program.

4700%

increase in China’s GDP per capita

between 1972 and today.

$11

billion have been spent

to complete the Bushehr nuclear reactor in Iran.

of Iran’s electricity needs

is all the Bushehr nuclear reactor provides.

new airports

are set to be built in China by 2015.

journalists

were imprisoned in Turkey as of August 2012 according to the OSCE.

67%

of the world's population

will reside in cities by 2050.

million Russian citizens

are considered “ethnic Muslims.”

Stay in the Know

Enter your email address in the field below to receive the latest Carnegie analysis in your inbox!

Carnegie Europe

Regions

Countries

Shahram Chubin

Judy Dempsey

Pierre Goldschmidt

Mark Hibbs

Stefan Lehne

Marc Pierini

Paul Schulte

Olga Shumylo-Tapiola

Jan Techau

Sinan Ülgen