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Dictators and terrorist states are currently testing the defensive power of Western democracies. Sigmund Gottlieb explains whether Germany can defend itself.
The renowned journalist and long-time editor-in-chief of Bayerische Rundfunk, Sigmund Gottlieb, comments on current topics for IPPEN.MEDIA with a keen eye every week in his column “Gottlieb direct”. This is about German foreign policy:
Are the climate crisis and loss of prosperity really still our main concerns? Aren’t we more concerned about how the world is currently falling apart? Putin’s war against Ukraine is becoming increasingly brutal, the Middle East is a powder keg. The wars are getting closer and closer to us.
The West, especially Germany, has no strategic answer to this. One might think that the world’s third-largest economy should also play a leading role in foreign policy. The opposite is the case. Our country is losing its reputation and importance in the world. In many capitals we are laughed at but not taken seriously. The way in which the Foreign Minister repeatedly tries to lecture her interlocutors is met with anger. A foreign policy strategy has been replaced by hectic travel diplomacy, the purpose of which is often not clear. Appearances staged for the camera seem to be aimed primarily at the domestic audience and the Green Party base.
While the world is burning, German foreign policy has not yet found its center. German self-aggrandizement when it comes to human rights is often the only yardstick when dealing with states that do not correspond to our democratic ideas. Many of the raw materials that we urgently need are usually not found in the soil of flawless democracies.
Dictators and terrorist states are currently testing the defenses of Western democracies. This also includes Germany. It reacts to this primarily with excessive morale and a lack of strategy.
► Sigmund Gottlieb is one one of the most renowned and experienced journalists in Germany. He was editor-in-chief from 1995 to 2017 and deputy television director at Bayerischer Rundfunk from 2001 to 2014.
► Gottlieb moderated the “Munich Round” as well as current Brennpunkt programs on Das Erste and was one of the most present commentators in the “Tagesthemen” on ARD.
► Gottlieb received several awards for his work, including the Bavarian Television Prize for reporting on the Kosovo War. Since 2005 he has been an honorary professor of journalism at the Amberg-Weiden University. And he serves on the university and foundation council of the University of Passau and is an honorary senator of this university.
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