It is obvious that there are different views regardin to the struggle with Russia and China within the coalition government of Germany. Well, does this sitution pose a return to the Ostpolitic through the cooperation with the Eurasian powers in along term? Germany is different tham other Western powers with its cautious position regarding to Taivan and Ukraine crisis. Germany that opposed to promote Ukraine with Leopard-2 tanks last year, now takes a dip view to Ukraine’s contr-attack to Russian territories.
While Ukraine demands long-range Taurus missiles to be able to attack Russia, Germany is working to shorten their range before delivering them to Kiev.[1] If we go back to the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Germany was subjected to intense pressure from the United States (USA) and England to terminate the Nord Stream-2 pipeline works with Russia. At that time, the USA was opposing Germany and Russia developing a very large alliance in Eurasia through the Nord Stream-2 project.
Germany’s relations with China also create controversy within the Western World. In December 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his article for the “Foreign Affairs” magazine that the world should avoid being divided into Cold War-style “blocks”. Scholz made a similar emphasis during his visit to Beijing in November 2022. [2] 2 In his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Scholz said that Germany did not support blocism and gave the message that they were ready to work with China on a number of issues.[3] In this context, Scholz advocated a view similar to China’s vision: avoiding blocism and the Cold War mentality Germany is clearly sending the message that it will not follow the US’s China policy. He sees that this is a climbing race. This is seen not only in Germany’s policy towards China, but in its entire Eurasian policy.
Germany aims to reverse the United States’ efforts to polarize the world and establish multipolarity, especially through cooperation with actors in Eurasia. In this regard, it is noteworthy that Germany has started to develop relations with actors such as Japan, India, China and Australia in recent years. In this regard, Berlin aims to prevent blocs in the Asia-Pacific and create an element of balance.
“Olaf Scholz will not leave China,” was published in Politico Magazine last year. So, will Europe learn from this? The article titled, revealed the separation within the Western World [4] In this article, it is claimed that Germany repeated the mistake it made by getting too close to Russia, this time by cooperating with China.
In general, Continental Europe has to make a choice between following the bloc politics of the USA or becoming a new pole in the multipolar world. It seems Germany choose the latter. The fact that Russia and China seem to have pulled Germany to their side in the context of multipolar world politics angers the USA. Speaking more generally, Continental Europe’s conflict with the Atlantic powers could be extended until the end of World War II. The fact that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has provided a protection shield to Europe for the last 70 years has been disturbing Eurasian powers such as France and Germany for many years. While the European Army has not yet been established and Continental Europe’s dependence on NATO continues, Germany’s attempt to chart a new path in Russian and Chinese politics by declaring its strategic autonomy may also mobilize other Eurasian actors. Therefore, Berlin’s cautious position on the issue of multipolarity seriously disturbs the Atlantic powers.
The Atlantic powers are the hegemons in the Western World. Germany, which is the leader of Continental Europe, may turn to cooperation with Russia and China in the long term in order to become a new pole in the multipolar world. This is clearly perceived as Continental Europe’s challenge to the Atlanticists. Europe drawing its own path makes the job of the USA, which is already in trouble with Russia and China in Eurasia, even more difficult. In this case, the USA’s conflict with Europe is also deepening. This situation opens up more space for Russia and China in Eurasia.
As a result, Germany sees that in recent years the global system has begun to take shape through the polarization between the USA and China. The Russia-Ukraine War created both consolidation and disintegration within the Western World. Due to the lessons learned from this war, Europe is cautious about cooperation with China and thinks that it is necessary to fight against it. In this respect, Europe tends to follow the US’s China strategy. On the other hand, Germany sees cooperation with Russia and China in the long term as a way to get rid of the hegemony of the Atlantic powers. For this reason, Germany gives the green light to the multipolar world by talking about the dangers of blocism.
[1] “Germany Mulls Sending Ukraine Taurus Long-Range Missiles”, Liga Net, https://news.liga.net/en/politics/news/berlin-obsujdaet-s-mbda-postavku-ukraine-modifitsirovannyh-krylatyh-raket-taurus-reuters, (Erişim Tarihi: 23.08.2023).
[2] “Germany’s Scholz Says World Must Avoid Dividing into Cold War-Style ‘Blocs’”, Al Arabiya, https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/12/05/Germany-s-Scholz-says-world-must-avoid-dividing-into-Cold-War-style-blocs-, (Erişim Tarihi: 23.08.2023).
[3] “Li Keqiang Holds Talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz”, Sdney China Consulate, http://sydney.china-consulate.gov.cn/eng/zgxw/202211/t20221105_10801041.htm, (Erişim Tarihi: 23.08.2023).
[4] “Olaf Scholz Won’t Dump China. Will Europe Ever Learn?”, Politico, https://www.politico.eu/article/olaf-scholz-wont-dump-china-will-europe-ever-learn/, (Erişim Tarihi: 23.08.2023).
