Abandoning Continuity for Adaptation: The Landscape of Thought on the Evolution of Germany’s Foreign Policy

This chapter is dedicated to the programmes for cooperation between Germany and emerging powers, developed within the debate on Germany’s global policy from 2004 to 2013. The environment of this debate, responding to the changes in systemic conditions described in the previous chapters, primarily consisted of research and expert institutions, universities, ministries, and the Chancellor’s office. The chapter highlights three key papers that emerged from this debate, which significantly influenced the subsequent 2012 governmental “shaping powers” programme, as well as a fourth published in 2013 wherein the latter programme was updated by a subsequent government. As the publications of these documents prompted broader reflection involving various entities and researchers in Germany regarding the shaping of German foreign policy, the analysis is expanded to present several main issues discussed within this framework: changes in the global order, internal factors influencing foreign policy, trends of adaptation and continuity in German foreign policy, and its European context.