Germany’s so-called “National Security Strategy,” which Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock officially announced in March 2022, was originally supposed to be presented right before the Munich Security Conference that convened last weekend. Its goal? To hammer out a unified framework for German foreign and security policy across all government ministries — also ensuring that German state institutions speak with one voice abroad.

From the viewpoint of the Foreign Office, it would have been extremely advantageous to present the document in the run-up to the security conference, where Baerbock was guaranteed maximum international attention. But it was not to be. Reportedly, the strategy was delayed by coordination difficulties — and likely also the fact that German foreign policy finds itself in an extremely difficult situation.

In strategic terms, the war in Ukraine has significantly restricted Germany’s foreign policy options. For decades, Berlin pursued a kind of dual strategy vis-à-vis Moscow. On the one hand, the German government engaged in economic cooperation with Russia and thus ensured, among other things, that cheap Russian natural gas was always available to German industry. On the other hand, it sought to systematically pressure Russia and minimize its influence in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, not least with the help of NATO’s eastward expansion and, from 2014 onward, by strengthening NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe.