Goldstein Comments on Change of Government in Germany

In an interview with La Razon, Erik Goldstein, Professor of International Relations and History at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, commented on the challenges facing Germany’s new coalition government. 

Goldstein commented on the policy priorities of the new government leadership, the impact former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s departure will have on international relations, as well as how the coalition will navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery. According to Goldstein, Germany’s relationship with the United States is of particular importance and will require significant investment from the new chancellor – Olaf Scholz – and the coalition government.

An excerpt:

What could be the effects in Brussels of the new orientation of the German Government on financial, defense and foreign policy?

The departure of Chancellor Merkel after so many years and a change in political parties in Berlin will cause nervousness in Brussels, especially in these areas. There will be a quiet period as the new German government becomes better known to its EU partners…A big problem will be to successfully maintain the United States’ commitment to defending Europe, the cornerstone of German security policy. This will mean meeting NATO spending commitments. Some may want to explore one more EU option, but this will take time. Both options involve more spending and also raise the question of a more military Germany, a sensitive issue since World War II. 

Transcription of the interview can be read on La Razon‘s website.

Erik Goldstein’s research interests include diplomacy, formulation of national diplomatic strategies, the origins and resolution of armed conflict, and negotiation. He is the author of Winning the Peace: British Diplomatic Strategy, Peace Planning, and the Paris Peace Conference, 1916-1920 (1991); Wars and Peace Treaties (1992); and The First World War’s Peace Settlements: International Relations, 1918 – 1925 (2002, Italian translation, 2004). To learn more about Erik, read his faculty profile