University of Regensburg
Institute for International Politics and Transatlantic Relations
Summer Symposium on Foreign Policy in Washington D.C
Summer Term 2005

Anti-Americanism in post 9/11 Germany

by:
Nils Schmieder
Majors: Political Science/American Studies
4th Term

Table of Content

Table of Content ... 1

1. Introduction  ... 2

2. Moravcsik’s liberal core assumptions  ... 4

3. From 9/11 to the Iraq War  ... 6
a. 9/11 and the German reaction ... 6
b. Afghanistan War/ Operation Enduring Freedom ... 7
c. Iraq War/ Operation Iraqi Freedom  ... 9

4. The sources and possible consequences of Anti-Americanism in Germany ... 12

5. Conclusion ... 16

Bibliography  ... 20

1. Introduction

For the past five decades Germany and the United States of America have been reliable allies. They strongly focused on common interests and threats and worked hand in hand to overcome problems and crises. The USA protected West Germany from the Soviet threat by sponsoring economic growth through the Marshall plan, it kept West Berlin alive through the airlift in 1948/49 and helped to establish a civil democracy with an economic success story that was until that point in history unheard of. “On October 3, 1990, German unification was achieved, due in large part to close German-American diplomatic cooperation despite resistance from France, Britain, and the Soviet Union, all of whom feared that a reunified Germany would upset the stable balance in Europe.”¹

Throughout time Germany and the USA had built a partnership that was founded on trust, friendship, extensive cooperation on numerous levels and common interests. After reunification the partnership seemed so strong and stable, that President George H. W. Bush called Germany “a partner in leadership”². Of course the transatlantic relations have never been trouble-free. There were differences and arguments on several occasions. One crisis, among others, developed in 1979 over NATO’s decision to deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Germany. A wide spectrum of the German population was quite critical about the policies of the American Administration, yet the phenomenon of strong, far-reaching and fundamental Anti-Americanism could mostly be confined to the radical political left. Furthermore “in these and other cases of friction between the United States, the German chancellor voiced criticism but in the end supported American policy.”³

In the past few years this has changed dramatically. A widespread conflagration of Anti- Americanism has spread throughout the German society and its political elite. Demonstrations against a war in Iraq drew a new crowd of anti-American protesters. “Demonstrators came not only from the ranks of the usual suspects-i.e., the till-then virtually dormant peace movements, left and green political parties, and universities and schools- but also from church groups, trade unions, and community associations. To a surprisingly high degree, they represented people who had never before attended a demonstration.”⁴ It seems that Anti- Americanism has become the German Lingua franca⁵. This development in recent years isquite alarming and disturbing, as Germany could be seen as the “most Americanized of European countries”⁶. It is even more questionable considering the fact that this new wave of anti-American sentiments has emerged after a period of great sympathy, compassion and fellowship with the American people.

The aim of this paper is to examine the following:
What are the sources for the new anti-American sentiments after the 9/11 era in Germany and have these attitudes of the majority of the German population influenced German foreign policy making? With respect to the anti-American sentiments influencing German foreign policy, the Liberalist theory of Andrew Moravcsik will function as a basis for finding an accurate result. The core assumptions of his analysis will be the focus of this paper. The introduction will be followed by a short overview of the Liberal theory by Moravcsik and his three core assumptions of Liberal IR Theory. Here his 1997 essay in International Organization was of great importance and functioned as a basis of his theory.

The third part of the paper will focus on the development of German foreign policies and German attitudes towards the United States from the time of September 11, 2001 till to beginning of the Iraq War. The works of Jung/Roth, Mowle, Szabo, Werz and Woodward were primarily analysed. These works were mainly published between the years 2001 and 2004. Furthermore the German and the International Press was considered, such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Financial Times, Tageszeitung and Die Zeit. The studies of the years 2002 and 2003 of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press were invaluable, as they provided reliable data. Additional data was taken from the German Institute Forsa and Forschungsgruppe Wahlen. The speeches that were held by President Bush and Chancellor Schröder were taken from the Office of the Press Secretary, especially speeches or press conferences from the years 2001 and 2002 found special consideration.

The fourth part of the paper will concentrate mainly on the possible sources and roots of the new anti-American attitudes and whether or not the German-U.S. relations still share common fields of interests. Here the works of Hollander, Pollack, Prestowitz and Szabo were consulted. Data was again taken from the Pew Research Center, especially the reports 2002 and 2003 were decisive. Moreover press articles were analysed, here in particular the New York Times, Der Spiegel and Die Welt. The last part of the paper draws up a conclusion and answers the given questions. The literature quoted there has been referenced.

2. Moravcsik’s liberal core assumptions

The liberal core assumptions of the Princeton Professor Andrew Moravcsik are of great importance for this paper, as they highlight a new aspect in international relations.“Liberal IR theory elaborates the insight that state-society relations – the relationship of states to the domestic and transnational social context in which they are embedded – have a fundamental impact on state behaviour in world politics.”⁷ It therefore can be treated as an alternative to the two dominant theories in contemporary IR study: realism and institutionalism. In Liberalism it is no longer the states that function as the primary actors in world politics, as in realism⁸ or in institutionalism⁹; the primary actors in International Relations are societal actors. Additionally, “For liberals, the configuration of state preferences matters most in world politics – not as realists argue, the configuration of capabilities and not, as institutionalists… maintain, the configuration of information and institutions.”¹⁰ Not the capabilities or the institutions matter, but the will and the determination of the societal actors. Therefore “the historical project of Liberalism is the domestication of the international.”¹¹

[...]

1 Stephen Szabo: Parting Ways. The Crisis in German-American Relations. Washington D.C 2004, p.4.

2 Quote in: Ibid, p.4.

3 Ibid., p.8.

4 Mary Nolan: Anti-Americanism and Anti-Europeanism. In: Gardner, Lloyd/ Young, Marilyn (Ed.): The New American Empire. A 21st Century Teach- In on U.S Foreign Policy. New York 2005, p.124.

5 Cf.: Andrei S. Markovits: Amerika, dich haßt sich’s besser. Antiamerikanismus und Antisemitismus in Europa. Hamburg 2004, p. 15.

6 Mary Nolan: Anti- Americanization in Germany. In: Ross, Andrew/ Ross, Kristin (Ed.): Anti- Americanism. New York 2004, p. 125.

7 Andrew Moravcsik: Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics. In: International Organization 51, 4 autumn 1997, p. 513.

8 For a detailed illustration of realism see: Hans Morgenthau: Macht und Frieden. Gütersloh 1963.

9 For a detailed illustration of institutionalism see: Robert Keohane: International Theory in International Relations. In: Brecher, Micheal/ Harvey, Frank (Ed.): Realism and Institutionalism in International Studies. Ann Arbor 2002, p.153-159.

10 Moravcsik 1997, p. 513.

11 Tim Dunne: Liberalism. In: Baylis, John/Smith, Steve (Ed.): The Globalization of World Politics. An introduction to international relations. Oxford 2001, p. 187.