Germany’s Place in the World

In this paper, Pádraig Murphy assesses the question that has confronted successive German governments since the Second World War: how to manage Germany’s place in the world? He traces the response to Germany’s foreign policy dilemma from the foundation of the Federal Republic to the Coalition Agreement reached in November 2013.

Pádraig Murphy is a member of the IIEA Germany Group, which focuses on Germany’s role in the European integration process and on the impact of Germany’s European and foreign policies on the European Union. He is also the Chair of the IIEA Foreign Policy Group. During a distinguished career in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Pádraig Murphy served in Germany, Russia, Japan and Spain among other countries, and also served as Political Director of the Department.