German Foreign Policy

Here is an interesting look at German foreign policy and Germany's potential in international affairs, especially in light of Russian aggression in the Ukraine. German leaders and academics have often described Germany as being a soft power, being more comfortable pushing its interests quietly behind the scenes. Does a change in foreign policy approaches appear to be in Germany's future?

A brief point or two: the article describes former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's foreign policy as "muscular".  However, he did it mostly by becoming closer to Putin and, according to his critics, at the expense of ignoring human rights violations and for very lucrative oil deals, especially promoting Russia's Baltic Sea pipeline.  They point out that once he left office, he almost immediately began working for Gazprom as an "advisor", furthering the appearance of being tied too closely to Putin. The German news network, N24, referred to Schröder as "Gazprom-Gerd" as late as 2012.  The article also ignores the Willy Brandt government when it sought closer ties with the East, particularly with the DDR that aggravated the Nixon Administration.   

http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21595956-germany-ready-have-foreign-policy-proportionate-its-weight-no-more-shirking