The SPD was considered pro-Russia and critical of armaments. After the attack on Ukraine, she throws some of her foreign policy principles overboard. A new concept should be available by the end of the year.
A leading role for Germany in the world, the military as a means of peace policy and an about-face in relation to Russia: the SPD wants to reorganize its foreign and security policy at the party conference in December. The party’s international policy commission presented an initial concept for this on Monday, in which mistakes in recent decades are also acknowledged – especially with regard to Russia policy. The turning point in the course of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine shows “that we have not always correctly assessed developments in recent years.”
The concept of the party commission, entitled “Social Democratic Responses to a World in Upheaval,” was presented by party leader Lars Klingbeil in the party executive committee and at a press conference on Monday. Klingbeil initiated the debate on a reorientation of democratic foreign policy last year with two keynote speeches. In it he demanded that Germany should pursue the claim of a “leading power” and that the military should be understood as a political tool. He also acknowledged a number of mistakes made by the SPD in Russia policy. All of this can now be found in the 21-page Commission paper, albeit in a different form.
“Leadership” instead of “Leadership”
Klingbeil’s concept of “leading power” does not appear in the paper, he had encountered reservations on the left wing of the party. Instead, there is now talk of a German “leadership role”. “A cooperative management style is a modern management style and the answer to a world in transition,” it says. Leadership does not mean that Germany disregards others, but that it leads with initiatives in order to achieve common goals. Germany is an important partner for many countries in the world. “And that’s exactly why they expect Germany to show more initiative and take a leadership role at the international level.”
The military as a means of peace politics
The extent to which Germany should also assume a leading role militarily is a matter of debate in the SPD. This is also becoming clear in the current discussion about arms deliveries to Ukraine. Many in the party are on a cautious course, above all parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich, who wants more diplomatic initiatives. The party commission now names the military as a means of peace policy: “In addition to diplomacy and a committed development policy, an effective peace policy also includes the military capabilities of our security and defense alliances.”
The paper contains a clear commitment to NATO’s goal of investing two percent of gross domestic product in defense. That was unthinkable before the Ukraine war. Not so long ago, an SPD foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, rejected the target, warning of a “military bull” in central Europe. Those times are now finally over.
Security from Russia instead of with Russia
Gone are the days when the SPD cultivated its partnership with Russia. In the party’s 2007 basic program, which is still valid, the strategic partnership with Russia is described as “indispensable” for Germany and the European Union. And even the SPD’s election program for 2021 still says: “Peace in Europe can only exist with Russia, not against it.” Now this sentence is being turned into its opposite: “As long as nothing changes fundamentally in Russia, Europe’s security against Russia will have to be organized.”
In the commission’s paper, the SPD commission also fundamentally distances itself from the Russia strategy that it has been pursuing for many years. “It was a mistake to stick to the assumption that increasing economic ties would contribute to democratization and stabilization in Russia in the long term.”
No decoupling from China
With a view to China, the SPD speaks out in the paper against decoupling. “The dialogue with China should be sought and conducted in a robust and constructively critical manner,” it says. “Human rights violations or protectionism should be addressed, as well as our commitment to the one-China policy and the conviction that the Taiwan issue can only be resolved in a peaceful process by mutual agreement.”
Source: Stern
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