Making the most of Germany's strategic partnerships: a five-point proposal

Abstract

Key bilateral relations in world politics today -from Sino-Indo ties to EU-US relations- have been formalised under the label "Strategic Partnership". Germany's Federal Foreign Office maintains eight strategic partnerships with a broad variety of partners. We analyse the problems associated with strategic partnerships, and offer a five-point proposal whereby Germany could finesse this instrument and use it more effectively. Given the highly divergent group of countries with which Germany maintains formalised strategic partnerships, there is a lack of clarity as to what a strategic partnership entails. Whereas actual bilateral relations differ greatly from country to country, two key elements characterise almost all of Germany's strategic partners. They are located outside the transatlantic orbit and they play a growing or continuingly significant role in regional and global governance; many of Germany's partners are indispensable for the solution of 21st century collective action problems. Germany could put this diplomatic instrument to more effective use: 1) focusing on "ability" and "will" (rather than a resort to moralization) 2) asking the question "which global public goods" is the partner country willing to provide 3) identifying clear red lines and abiding by them 4) building in an incentive structure based on "Reform for Responsibility" and 5) working in coalitions. Being more explicit about the purpose of individual strategic partnerships would make them a more viable diplomatic instrument. Our proposal suggests ways whereby Germany's strategic partnerships could be better targeted. ­Effective strategic partnerships could generate very high gains - not only for Germany, but for the world at large via the attention they pay to the joint provision of public goods, and everyone concerned with questions of global order.