On the Way Towards Greater International Responsibility

The author contends that Germany's historical preference for non-military foreign policy and economic cooperation is no longer viable in a globalised world. Highlighting the paralysis of the UN Security Council and the rise of authoritarianism, the text calls for a more active European foreign policy. It specifically emphasizes the need for the EU to support Ukraine against Russian neo-imperialism and to maintain a value-based partnership with the United States to avoid security vacuums.

• There is a significant disconnect between German political leadership and public opinion regarding international engagement; while leaders call for a "more substantial contribution," 60 percent of surveyed citizens believe Germany should "rather continue to exercise restraint" in international crises.
• Germany's traditional foreign policy, shaped by the policy of détente and a focus on economic cooperation, has led to a "self-privileging" stance that prioritizes non-military action and development cooperation over the enforcement of peace.
• The international order is destabilising, exacerbated by the failure of the UN Security Council, which is "increasingly blocked by the new polarisation between Russia and the US" and is "paralysed" in the cases of Syria and Ukraine.
• The European Union must increase its foreign policy responsibility as the United States' capacity and willingness to act as a global power decrease, warning that a total US withdrawal would create a "security vacuum" filled by non-democratic forces.
• Russia, under President Putin, has shifted toward a "neo-imperial" approach, seeking to recover "zones of ‘privileged influence’" and reviving the Brezhnev Doctrine of "limited sovereignty," which threatens the peaceful order in post-Soviet Europe.
• The EU's relationship with Ukraine is a critical test of its credibility as a political actor; the author advocates for granting Ukraine the status of a "European state" and providing prompt freedom of travel to the EU to support reform forces.
• Despite tensions over NSA surveillance and the TTIP agreement, the transatlantic alliance should be viewed as the "core of a new multilateralism" rather than being terminated, to counter authoritarian and fundamentalist forces.

APA

Fücks, R. (2015). On the Way Towards Greater International Responsibility. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/on-the-way-towards-greater-international-responsibility/

Chicago

Fücks, Ralf. On the Way Towards Greater International Responsibility. Green European Journal, 2015. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/on-the-way-towards-greater-international-responsibility/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fücks |first1=Ralf |title=On the Way Towards Greater International Responsibility |publisher=Green European Journal |date=2 March 2015 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/on-the-way-towards-greater-international-responsibility/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fcks2015way, author = {Fücks, Ralf}, title = {{On the Way Towards Greater International Responsibility}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2015}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/on-the-way-towards-greater-international-responsibility/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }