The election to the German Bundestag on 26 September 2021 will have repercussions far beyond Germany. Whoever succeeds Angela Merkel will have a decisive influence on whether and how the country positions itself as a leading power in Europe in the coming years.

Foreign policy in a post-Merkel Germany

While Germany’s long-ruling centre-right parties continue to offer more of the same, the Greens have recently emerged as a serious contender in the run-up to September’s federal elections. Rather than demanding that Germans give up their lifestyles, the Greens are promising to make Germany a better version of itself. But how will this affect German foreign policy? Host Mark Leonard talks to Franziska Brantner, spokesperson for European Policy and Parliamentary Secretary of Bündnis90/Die Grünen’s parliamentary group as well as Janka Oertel, head of ECFR´s Asia programme to discuss what Germany’s future with a Green government would look like. 

This podcast was recorded on 29 April 2021.

Further reading: 
•“Germany’s Green Velvet Revolution?” by Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/2RcOTb6  

Bookshelf:
•“Green Recovery Tracker": https://www.greenrecoverytracker.org/ 
•“Heimat Europa?” by Martin Ramb & Holger Zaborowski, 
• “China’s FinTech: the end of the wild west” by Viviana Zhu

World in 30 Minutes

A foreign policy for a Green Germany

With Angela Merkel stepping down as Chancellor, the next German federal elections scheduled for this September promise to mark a turning point for Germany. Foreign policy issues promise to be a crucial part of the election campaign. In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks to Niels Annen, Minister of State in the German Federal Foreign Office and member of the Bundestag for the SPD to find out what a social-democratic foreign policy looks like. What would SPD foreign policy look like unbound by the grand coalition with Merkel’s Christian Democrats? What are social democratic policy ideas when it comes to China, Russia or European security and defence? And how deep are the divides between the SPD’s foreign policy and that of the parties they’re running against?

This podcast was recorded on 15 July 2021.

Further Reading:
- ECFR German Election 360:  https://buff.ly/3gJNvr2
- A foreign policy for a Green Germany:  https://buff.ly/3vxdTcd 

Bookshelf:
- “The Arab of the Future” by Riad Sattouf

A social democratic vision of German foreign policy

With Germany’s federal elections rapidly approaching, chancellor Angela Merkel is set to depart the political stage. What will the foreign policy of her party, the CDU, look like when she’s gone? In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks to ECFR senior policy fellow Ulrike Franke and Andreas Nick, a CDU member of the German Bundestag. How would a chancellor Armin Laschet approach China, Russia, and defence? And what exactly sets the CDU’s foreign policy apart from those of the Social Democrats or the Greens? 

This podcast was recorded on 1 September 2021.

Further Reading: 

ECFR German Election 360
https://ecfr.eu/topic/german-election-2021/ 

Bookshelf: 
“Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict” by Mark Leonard https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1443237/the-age-of-unpeace/9781787634657.html 

“Has China Won?” by Kishore Mahbubani 
https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/kishore-mahbubani/has-china-won/9781541768123/ 

“From Cold War to Hot Peace” by Michael McFaul https://fsi.stanford.edu/content/cold-war-hot-peace 

“Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy” by Brendan Simms https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2013/04/reviewed-europe-struggle-supremacy-brendan-simms 

German party election platforms: 
https://www.aicgs.org/2021/07/a-guide-german-party-election-platforms-2021/

CDU foreign policy post-Merkel

Welcome to ECFR’s special limited podcast series, in which we bring you the most pressing items on Germany’s foreign policy to-do list for its new government!

In our first episode, we'll discuss climate policy: Whoever wins the election, the next German government must approach climate action more systematically and in a more sustained fashion. Moreover, how well the newly elected Bundestag positions itself to implement and sustain a coherent climate agenda will depend in large part on its composition and leading figures. But how should the new government really go about this? What are concrete next steps to be taken?

Read about the issue on https://ecfr.eu/article/flash-in-the-pan-flooding-in-germany-and-the-politics-of-climate/

Lead time: How Germany should move on from Merkel | Climate Policy

Lead time: How Germany should move on from Merkel | China Policy

Welcome to ECFR’s special limited podcast series, in which we bring you the most pressing items on Germany’s foreign policy to-do list for its new government!
Episode 2 – China Policy 
In our second episode, we'll discuss Germany’s approach to China. It has become clear that even if Germans remain interested in defending the status quo of the Merkel years, it will be increasingly hard to maintain their current level of prosperity – and security – without charting a new course on China. Policy adjustments will, therefore, be necessary. And it seems like if the Green party is part of a new government, Germany is also likely to be ready to chart a new course. But how should the next German government concretely shape its China policy, and its approach to the Indo-Pacific?
Read about the issue in the recent commentary by Janka Oertel: https://ecfr.eu/article/the-china-factor-in-the-german-election/

Lead time: How Germany should move on from Merkel | China Policy

German election results are in, and they mark a new era for Germany. On 26 September, Germans headed to the polls to vote in one of the most unpredictable elections since Angela Merkel took office over a decade and a half ago. Now, Germany will have to endure weeks – or possibly months – of fraught coalition talks before a new government can be formed. 

In this week’s World in 30 Minutes episode, host Mark Leonard talks with Jeremy Cliffe, international editor of the New Statesman, Jana Puglierin, head of ECFR’s Berlin Office, Lykke Friis, ECFR co-chair and Director of the Danish Think Tank Europa, and Sylvie Kauffmann, editorial director of Le Monde, about the fragmented election result and its implications for Europe. What coalition – the ‘traffic light’, ‘Jamaica’ or ‘grand’ – is most likely? How are the results being perceived throughout Europe? And what do they mean for the future of our continent?  

This podcast was recorded on 29 September 2021.

Bookshelf:  

-How Olaf Scholz and the SPD could lead Germany’s next government by Jeremy Cliffe 
-The Fateful Chancellor: What the end of the Merkel era means for the world by Jeremy Cliffe  
- Speak, Silence: In Search of WG Sebald by Caroline Angier 
- Pandemonium: Europe’s COVID Crisis by Luuk van Middelaar 
- Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity causes Conflict by Mark Leonard 
- The Vaccine by Joe Miller with Dr. Özlem Türeci and Dr. Ugur Sahin 
- Le Premier XXIe siècle by Jean-Marie Guehenno 
- Crime and persuade by Peter Baldwin

Germany’s election result and what it means for Europe

In our third episode, we’ll discuss Germany’s approach to economic sovereignty and threats of economic coercion. Even though, this should be mainly viewed as a European task, Germany – as the EU’s powerhouse – should take a central role in protecting Europe from economic coercion. As part of its renewal of German (economic) policies, the new government in Berlin will therefore need to take decisive steps in strengthening Europe’s resilience. 

Read about the issue in the recent commentary by Jonathan Hackenbroich: https://ecfr.eu/article/four-ways-the-new-german-government-can-strengthen-european-trade-against-economic-coercion/

Lead time: How Germany should move on from Merkel | Economic Coercion

In our fourth and last episode, we’ll discuss how Germany should tackle digitalisation and tech innovation. As this area had been somewhat neglected during the Merkel years, the new government should buckle up, shoulder this massive task and really start shaping its own and EU efforts on tech sovereignty.

Find out more about our tech sovereignty work: https://ecfr.eu/category/digital/

Find all our recommendations for the next German government here: https://ecfr.eu/topic/german-election-2021/

Lead time: How Germany should move on from Merkel | Tech

Weekly podcast on the events, policies and ideas that will shape the world.

World in 30 minutes is curated by Mark Leonard, Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), and features top-level speakers from across the EU and beyond to debate and discuss Europe’s role in the world. It was awarded “Best podcasts on EU politics” by PolicyLab in 2019.

Member of the EuroPod network.

Foreign policy in a post-Merkel Germany

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes