IREn5006 German foreign policy

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Jana Urbanovská, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Jana Urbanovská, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Wed 14:00–15:40 U43
Prerequisites
! MVZn5018 German Foreign and Defence Pol && !NOW( MVZn5018 German Foreign and Defence Pol )
The knowledge of German language is an advantage, it is however not a precondition for a successful completion of the course.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 20/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Traditionally, Germany has been considered a “civilian power”, tied to the West, embedded in multilateral structures, with a value-based foreign policy and a reserved approach to the use of force. In the decades following the re-unification of Germany in 1990 up to the present, the notion of Germany as a civilian power has been challenged on multiple occasions. Other labels have appeared – such as central power, middle power, hegemonic power, leading power, shaping power, reflective power, or geo-economic power – that either complement the role of Germany as a civilian power, or even suggest a departure from this traditional foreign policy concept. Building on rich empirical data and academic debates on German foreign policy, the central questions of our course will be: What kind of power Germany is? Is it still a civilian power, or do other concepts better explain German post-unification foreign policy?
Learning outcomes
The main goal of the course is to understand the nature of contemporary German foreign policy. Upon successful completion of the course, students will have a detailed overview of post-WW II German foreign policy; they will be able to interpret academic debates concerning German foreign policy; and they will be able to conduct a theoretically guided analysis of German foreign policy with an emphasis on the post-unification period.
Syllabus
  • 1) Introduction to the course
  • 2) German foreign policy and its puzzles
  • 3) Civilian power: West Germany's grand strategy
  • 4) Continuity and change of the civilian power Germany after reunification
  • 5) Germany and the European integration: From a tamed power to a normalized power
  • 6) Germany in the United Nations: An ambitious middle power?
  • 7) Germany and the politics of military intervention: A civilian power “without courage”?
  • 8) When interests beat norms: Germany as a geo-economic power
  • 9) The “new” German foreign policy: A reflective power
  • 10) Germany in times of Zeitenwende: Leading power still in the making
  • 11) Chancellors compared: Olaf Scholz, Angela Merkel and German Foreign Policy
  • 12) Guest lecture
  • 13) Conclusion: Germany – what kind of power?
Literature
  • FRÖHLICH, Stefan. The end of self-bondage : german foreign policy in a world without leadership. Wiesbaden: Springer, 2021, xii, 131. ISBN 9783658327637. info
  • HUDSON, Valerie M. Foreign policy analysis : classic and contemporary theory. Third edition. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020, xi, 276. ISBN 9781442277908. info
  • STENGEL, Frank A. The politics of military force : antimilitarism, ideational change, and postwar German security discourse. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan press, 2020, xvi, 275. ISBN 9780472132218. info
  • Routledge handbook of German politics & culture. Edited by Sarah Colvin - Mark Taplin. First published in paperback. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018, xx, 493. ISBN 9780815377573. info
  • New Europe, new Germany, old foreign policy : german foreign policy since unification. Edited by Douglas Webber. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017, 226 stran. ISBN 9780714681856. info
Teaching methods
Teaching methods include lectures, students’ presentations, text discussions, group work and debates on current events in German foreign policy. Students are also going to read a series of fundamental texts that have shaped major debates about German foreign policy. Students’ activity in the course is based on regular, week-by-week work.
Assessment methods
Students' presentation: 20 %
Reading quizzes: 40 %
Final take-home exam: 40 %
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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