A Rising Middle Power?: German Foreign Policy in Transformation, 1989-1999

A Rising Middle Power is a comprehensive analysis of post-Cold War German foreign policy as it has adjusted to the fundamental shift in the structure of world politics after 1989. It examines changes in German foreign policy in three crucial arenas--military missions abroad, European integration, and NATO enlargement--and asks how Germany has reacted to large-scale change in its international environment. Max Otte contends that Germany is on its way to becoming a normal power, albeit one with rather limited power potential. According to Otte, contemporary Germany is a saturated, status-quo oriented, and risk-averse nation with three major security interests (in that order): security partnership with the United States, European integration, and stability in Eastern Europe and Russia. Within these narrow parameters, Germany is emerging as a powerbroker in Europe, a development that the United States should welcome.