Shaping German Foreign Policy: History, Memory and National Interest

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Reconciling the imperatives of Germany s national identity and its national interest has been a challenge for the country s policymakers since the end of the Cold War. Anika Leithner explores how (and how much) the past continues to shape Germany s foreign policy behavior in the first decade of the twenty-first century.Leithner argues that, while German foreign policy is still heavily influenced by the memory of World War II, the exact nature of that memory is slowly changing as the lessons of history are being reinterpreted. Focusing on the military interventions in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, she deftly illustrates the ways in which the lessons of history have been manipulated in the pursuit of an assertive foreign policy one that can appease audiences at home while securing a leadership role for Germany in Europe and beyond.

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Anika Leithner is assistant professor of political science at California Polytechnic State University.