Germany and the world have woken up from the Bullerbü-dream of eternal peace for all people to a real nightmare. The overall record of Western foreign policy in the 21st century is not only disappointing, but catastrophic. Deterring an attack on Ukraine: failed. Building a democracy with women’s rights in Afghanistan: after 20 years with billions of investments and many deaths: failed. Containing totalitarian Iran: failed. A better peace order in Iraq, Libya or Syria: failed. Fighting the causes of flight in Africa and Asia: failed. The integration of China into a free world order: failed. Western peace and security policy has failed on a whole level. Things cannot and must not continue as they are. We need a more effective foreign policy with heart and mind, a World 4.0.
Germany and Europe once again need realism instead of reveries. We should clearly define and defend our national interests. Out with the endless ideologically driven standard phrases, the superficiality and banality in thinking, speaking, planning and acting. Out with the endless declarations of intent that are not followed by action. Problems are being managed. What we lack is the determination and courage to actively tackle the future. We can save world peace with the trilogy of humanity, creativity and effectiveness: that is our Mission Future. Humanity is also indispensable in a realpolitik. For it is at the heart of democratic states.
Diversity is the DNA of God. Ideological approaches, on the other hand, limit human happiness and freedom. Freedom is our oxygen, tolerance the lubricating oil for a good coexistence of different cultures. What man does not need is state paternalism. Freedom is a great good; without it, citizens become puppets of dictatorial governments. The new foreign policy World 4.0 should therefore be based on human rights, tolerance and freedom and defend them against unfree systems. Totalitarian standards are the baleful breeding ground for oppression, violence and war. Therefore, the Western alliance needs a clear dual strategy: not an “either-or” but an “as-well-as”. This means that we can trade and cooperate with dictatorial states, but at the same time we must demand and strengthen humanity, freedom and tolerance more than ever.
The well-intentioned concept of “change through trade” has failed. The Nord Stream 2 deal with Russia – despite the annexation of Crimea in violation of international law – has driven us into energy dependency. Merkel government’s refusal to supply defense weapons for Ukraine was a gross mistake in German foreign policy. The result is a terrible war in the middle of Europe. Therefore, I categorically reject the turning a blind eye, the talking down, the tacit toleration of inhuman regimes and their repressive measures against their own population, as practiced by many lobbyists, politicians and business representatives. This is bourgeois appeasement, which is also interpreted by China as weakness and virtually encourages the communist regime in its invasion plans for Taiwan.
What is to be done? Governments and the EU should set up a Human Rights and Freedom Fund, with hundreds of millions of dollars a year to support groups abroad fighting for freedom and human rights. In addition, each country should submit a report to parliament once a year on the state of human rights worldwide, as well as establish documentation centers for human rights violations.
Albert Einstein once said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. We cannot solve the world’s problems at the same level of thought at which we created them.” An insight that has not lost its relevance. On the contrary. Only with the greatest possible imagination, rethinking and curiosity can we win the global struggle for power, influence and progress. But political creativity has atrophied, preferring to leave things at the supposedly reliable structures, according to the motto “business as usual.” But if instead we remain rigidly in our comfort zone, the world’s democracies will lose. We also need a paradigm shift in personnel policy: Not the quiet careerist, but the creative thinker should be promoted.
The efficiency of foreign and security policy is underdeveloped. We are almost always too late, burn too much money and achieve too little. How can we become more efficient? Endless problem diagnosis prevents the start of therapy. We need to turn that around: We need fresh ideas, intelligent options and unconventional solutions, less administration, bureaucracy and paragraph congestion, and more personal responsibility on the part of politicians. We also need a broad public discourse before political decisions are waved through by parliament on a fast-track basis. Controversial discussions are no longer desired, although they are at the core of every democratic opinion-forming process. Away from media staging of foreign policy such as the pompous G-7 and G-20 summits, which bring nothing but pretty pictures. An annual progress report in parliament would be more groundbreaking.
We should build a more effective cost-benefit management system in which the total costs of a crisis are listed and regularly reviewed. Vague time management was yesterday, now we need a more precise schedule of when we want to and can achieve what through faster, controlled implementation. Germany’s and the EU’s current problems such as too high energy prices, inflation, education deficits, too few new patents, too much bureaucracy, too little digitalization and artificial intelligence are self-inflicted. The green zero-emissions policy and the renunciation of nuclear power or fracking in Germany pave the way for China to dominate the world. Instead of jumping from one crisis to the next, potential conflict bombs must be defused preventively from now on. We should act more on our own initiative instead of always reacting. We should think our foreign policy locally from the bottom up and not impose our worldview on others and fail as a result. Those who are weak in the real world provide a potential target for attack. A sufficient defense capability is therefore indispensable. It is not up to the rulers Putin or Xi – it is up to us what we make of the crisis and how we position our democracy strongly in the real world. Optimism is needed, less cynicism and resignation. We can, indeed we must, make it work. With heart and mind. Let’s be bold with our Mission Future!
Text Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann
Edited: Birgit von Heintze