The Federal Republic’s ties to the West are a success story. She deserves to be defended. Now more than ever.
Illustration Olivia Meyer/NZZ
You are reading an excerpt from the weekday newsletter “The Other View”, today by Marc Felix Serrao, editor-in-chief of NZZ Germany. Subscribe to the newsletter for free. Don’t live in Germany? Benefit here.
When Joe Biden visits Germany for the last time as American president this Thursday and Friday, he will meet a chancellor on whom he has always been able to rely. Olaf Scholz said in advance that he was looking forward to Biden. Cooperation with the USA and Germany’s integration into NATO are a constant of German policy that is being questioned today: “That is wrong,” said Scholz, warning. “This is a threat to our security.” That’s the way it is.
Germany’s ties to the West are a success story. It gave the Germans prosperity and security for three quarters of a century. And it deserves to be defended: against its opponents at home and, if necessary, against the next American president – if his name is Donald Trump and he continues his “America First” policy from his first term in office. From the perspective of Germany as a trading nation, this applies above all to its destructive belief in tariffs.
Commitment does not mean blind loyalty
The reference to Trump is based on the conviction that ties to the West should not be synonymous with blind loyalty. Quite the opposite: The United States has long ceased to be a role model for other Western countries. America’s society is deeply divided, its culture wars have a chilling effect, and its appearance is neglected in many places.
Due to the fentanyl epidemic, San Francisco and Los Angeles are now more reminiscent of the zombie series “The Walking Dead” than of large cities in the most powerful country in the world. And no, the policies of American presidents have rarely been a blessing for the rest of the world in recent times. In Afghanistan and Syria, for example, these caused debacles, the consequences of which Germany is still struggling with today in the form of huge flows of refugees.
Why should one support a superpower that is so broken internally and causes so much damage internationally? The question is legitimate. And it would be unwise to dismiss criticism of the USA as “anti-American”. Anyone who acts like this, and many self-proclaimed transatlanticists do this, won’t convince anyone who isn’t already convinced. It only deepens the trenches being dug by the real anti-Americans. And these are more influential than ever in Germany. They come from the left and the right, and they find open ears, especially in the East.
Left and right anti-Americanism
This has recently included the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance, which portrays NATO as a warmonger at every opportunity and American interests, if only as antipodes to German interests thematised. And the AfD has been part of this for a while now, even if the party is in its own right program is committed to NATO and describes the USA as a “partner”. Leading cadres like the newly crowned Thuringian election winner Björn Höcke talk and think differently. For them, the USA is not a country with flaws, but a world power with sinister intentions.
In his 2018 book “Never in the Same River Twice,” Höcke, for example, claims that the United States is pursuing a dual strategy that destabilizes the Islamic space and “consciously” promotes mass Muslim migration to Europe, which “breeds intra-societal conflicts and the threat of Islamic terrorism ». He does not provide any evidence for his whispers.
Such stories have a tradition in Germany. As students, left-wing educated citizens who are now retired raved about Marxist revolutionaries like Che Guevara and Ho Chi Minh and railed against the American way of life in general and the belief in the creative power of free markets in particular. Many on the right agreed, albeit for different reasons. The USA was and is seen as a destroyer of traditional values at home and as an empire that wants to keep Germany small and dependent.
The horseshoe of German opponents of America is not new. But given his electoral success, it calls for new answers. Two thoughts can help.
First: The connection to the West is correct not because of it, but because of it trotz the current appearance and demeanor of the United States. It’s about the idea of America. The basic values of its Declaration of Independence and Constitution are not just a little, but vastly superior to those of the other authoritarian great powers of the world: rule of law, separation of powers, market economy and the right of every citizen to strive for happiness – a self-defined, not imposed happiness.
Would you rather go with Russia? Or China?
Second: America is worthy of criticism, but also capable of criticism. All of the shortcomings and wrong decisions mentioned are discussed in the country itself: openly, harshly and without government supervision. That would be life-threatening in Russia, and in China too. This needs to be reminded to all those who ask whether a “non-aligned” Germany wouldn’t be better. In theory, their multipolarity sounds good. But the reality of international politics is different. Great powers and superpowers have always divided the world into zones of influence. Germany and Europe, which is fragmented in terms of security policy, would not be a neutral space without American patronage. They would be an invitation to other, in this case authoritarian, powers to fill the gap.
And so back to Joe Biden and Olaf Scholz. The transatlantic alliance never looked as weak as it did with these heads. One is no longer up to his job due to age, the other is overwhelmed by his coalition. But the fact that both men stick to the idea of the West is a reason to be happy, especially for the Germans.
The West is counted. But he can recover. It is definitely better than the alternatives.
