Germany's Foreign Policy of Reconciliation

Since World War II, Germany has confronted its own history to earn acceptance in the family of nations. Lily Gardner Feldman draws on the literature of religion, philosophy, social psychology, law and political science, and history to understand Germany's foreign policy with its moral and pragmatic motivations and to develop the concept of international reconciliation. Germany's Foreign Policy of Reconciliation traces Germany's path from enmity to amity by focusing on the behavior of individual leaders, governments, and non-governmental actors. The book demonstrates that, at least in the cases of France, Israel, Poland, and Czechoslovakia/the Czech Republic, Germany has gone far beyond banishing war with its former enemies; it has institutionalized active friendship. The German experience is now a model of its own, offering lessons for other cases of international reconciliation. Gardner Feldman concludes with an initial application of German reconciliation insights to the other principal post–World War II pariah, as Japan expands its relations with China and South Korea.

Readers may ask why the topic of reconciliation is not accorded greater attention within international relations. Feldman examines German postwar foreign policy and correctly identifies reconciliation as its guiding principle. Examining Germany's evolving postwar relations with Israel, France, Poland, and the Czech Republic, the author brings a distinctly historical perspective to a question that she nevertheless couches in political terms, namely, what factors have been key to Germany's approach. The book weaves together four factors—how history is leveraged, the role of national leaders, the centrality of government and non-government institutions, and finally the overall international context—and presents an in-depth analysis based upon a wealth of secondary sources. Eschewing the generation of a rigorous causal model, the book still succeeds in distilling which elements were necessary for reconciliation to occur. The highly contextualized findings render the book particularly valuable from a historical perspective, yet Feldman also cleverly seeks to extend its insights to comparable unresolved situations in East Asia; indeed, the book could also offer important lessons for internal conflicts involving ethnic violence and civil war. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels., Even if it is difficult to transfer the different cultural, social, and political conditions of Europe to the Pacific, the author gives advice to learn from the German example because—consciously or unconsciously—reconciliation policy also serves the power of a to stabilize the state on the international arena and to increase—which in turn makes an active policy of reconciliation attractive for all States., In this magisterial volume, Lily Gardner Feldman traces the development of German reconciliation policy in relation to France, Israel, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. . . . [The author] casts her net very wide in her explanation and draws some important comparative explanations. She rightly assigns central importance to the role of history, leadership, nongovernmental institutions, and governmental institutions, although these factors play out very differently in different contexts. One of the great strengths of this impressive study is the way in which the four-cases approach allows the author to track subtle changes over the decades., A comprehensive account detailing the formulation and development of a central tenet of the Federal Republic of Germany's foreign policy. . . . It will be an essential reference for all students of postwar and postunification Germany, international relations, foreign policy, and conflict resolution., In this well-researched and fascinating book . . . Lily Gardner Feldman argues that political reconciliation represented 'the cornerstone, perhaps the very definition of German foreign policy after World War II.' [It] is inspired by several bodies of literature, and bridges the gap between the literature focusing on the foreign relations of the Federal Republic and the theological, philosophical, legal, social-psychological, and political and historical approaches to the study of reconciliation. . . . Feldman’s discussion of the foreign policy of the Federal Republic between 1949 and 2009 is clear and persuasive, and the overall message of the book optimistic and inspiring. Feldman stresses the pivotal role of political leadership—highlighting the role played by 'friendship relations'—and of a 'shared vision' between the leaders of the two countries, often in the face of skeptical, if not openly hostile, public opinion. And while acknowledging the reticence often displayed by a large part of the German public, Feldman also stresses the significance of the role played by societal actors in promoting international reconciliation—an innovative and very interesting aspect of the author's study of German foreign policy. . . . An interesting and highly informative work, which raises important questions about the course of German foreign relations in the post-World War II era.

Lily Gardner Feldman is Harry & Helen Gray Senior Fellow in Residence and director of the Society, Culture, and Politics Program at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University.